Category: Toronto Raptors Blog

Raptors blog – Toronto Raptors blog

Prince scores 25 in Pistons win over Raptors

The AP reports: Richard Hamilton’s first game as a reserve for the Detroit Pistons was supposed to be the story of the night. Tayshaun Prince had other plans. Prince scored 23 of his 25 points in the second and third quarters, helping the Pistons pull away from the Toronto Raptors in a 95-76 win Wednesday night… Hamilton scored seven points in his first game off the bench since Feb. 1, 2002, when he was playing for the Washington Wizards. The following offseason, they traded him to Detroit for Jerry Stackhouse… Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points for the Raptors and Jermaine O’Neal had 11 points, playing for just the second time in 13 games. O’Neal has been slowed by a sore right knee… Rodney Stuckey scored 17 points, Maxiell had season highs in points (16) and rebounds (11), Iverson scored 11 and reserve Antonio McDyess had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Johnson, Bibby lift Hawks past Raptors 87-84

The AP reports: Jamario Moon’s key miss for Toronto set up Joe Johnson’s clincher for Atlanta. Johnson scored 28 points, including a jumper with 12.5 seconds left, Mike Bibby added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 87-84 Monday despite missing two injured starters. Josh Smith, the Hawks’ only healthy regular up front, had 22 points and 14 rebounds as Atlanta sent Toronto to its sixth loss in a row. Al Horford was out for the fifth straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. Marvin Williams was absent after sustaining a concussion in Friday night’s loss at Golden State… Chris Bosh had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Shaq makes a funny

The Toronto Sun (Terry Koshan) reports:  The always quotable Shaquille O’Neal had one of the better post-game lines yesterday. When O’Neal was asked what it was like to hear a louder ovation for another player (Steve Nash), other than himself, O’Neal said: “Never happens.” But a reporter pointed out that Nash had a louder ovation during the warmup than O’Neal did. “They asked my permission,” said O’Neal, who finished with 16 points. O’Neal is getting long in the tooth, but still leaves a lasting impression on opponents.

Stoudemire and Nash help Suns beat Raptors

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 31 points, Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and the Suns beat Toronto 117-113 on Sunday afternoon, their ninth consecutive victory over the struggling Raptors… Jason Richardson added 17 points, Shaquille O’Neal and Matt Barnes each had 16 and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 for Phoenix. Stoudemire scored 11 points in the fourth as the Suns won the opener of a six-game road trip… Anthony Parker led Toronto with 26, Joey Graham scored a career-high 22 and Chris Bosh had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto lost its fifth straight… Guard Jose Calderon (hamstring) sat for the eighth time in nine games, guard Jason Kapono was scratched because of flu-like symptoms and forward Jermaine O’Neal, who returned from a nine-game absence Friday, rested his sore knee. O’Neal is probable for Monday’s game at Atlanta.

Dunleavy and Pacers sink Raptors, 111-104

The AP reports: Mike Dunleavy’s legs may not be completely healthy. Fortunately for Indiana, his wit is all there. The poised veteran goaded Toronto’s Chris Bosh into fouling him on a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go Friday night, then made all three free throws to help the Pacers avoid another monumental late-game collapse with a 111-104 victory… Dunleavy, who has missed all but six of the Pacers’ 40 games, made only his second start of the season Friday. Not surprisingly, the Pacers have pulled out wins in both games, and he matched his season-high with 22 points against Toronto. Only Granger scored more points. He led the Pacers with 23 and had five rebounds, four assists and two steals despite spending the equivalent of a full quarter on the bench because of foul trouble and making only one of eight shots in the final 12 minutes. Chris Bosh’s big night was tainted by that ill-advised foul. The two-time All-Star had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani added 20 points for Toronto, which has lost four straight.

Rose scores 25 points, Bulls beat Raptors

The AP reports: Derrick Rose’s big fourth quarter and Joakim Noah’s block gave the Chicago Bulls a rare road victory. Rose scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, and Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup in the Bulls’ 102-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night… Andres Nocioni added 16 points, Kirk Hinrich had 12 and Ben Gordon 10 for Chicago, which had lost eight of 11 coming in… Andrea Bargnani had a career-high 31 points and finished with 10 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost three straight. Bosh scored 25 points, and Anthony Parker had 15.

Pierce’s 39 lead Celtics to OT win over Raptors

The AP reports:  “Y’all need to start playing some of that “Superman” theme music in the building when he’s going like that,” Kevin Garnett said after Paul Pierce scored nine of his season-high 39 points in overtime to lead Boston to a 115-109 win over Toronto on Monday night… Pierce also had nine rebounds, while Garnett added 20 points and 12 rebounds and held Bosh to 1-of-4 shooting in 12 minutes of the fourth quarter and kept him from shooting in all five minutes of overtime.Andrea Bargnani, whose 3-pointer with 1 second left sent the game into overtime tied at 93, led the Raptors with 23 points… Boston’s 22 points set a club record for most in overtime, breaking the mark set on Jan. 2, 1963 when it outscored the San Francisco Warriors 21-6 in a 135-120 win.

Celtics top Raptors 94-88, end 4-game skid

The AP reports: Ray Allen scored a season-high 36 points, including eight 3-pointers, and the Celtics withstood a late Toronto rally to beat the Raptors 94-88 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a four-game losing streak… Allen, who made a career-high 10 3-pointers against Charlotte on April 14, 2002, went 8-for-10 from 3-point range Sunday, making his first six attempts… Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Pierce had 11 points for Boston, which had lost seven of nine coming in… Andrea Bargnani led Toronto with 17 points while Chris Bosh and Jamario Moon each had 15.

Bosh scores 32 to lift Raptors over Grizzlies

The AP reports:  Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani handled the Memphis Grizzlies with relative ease. How they fare against the defending NBA champions will show whether the Toronto Raptors are back on track, or simply beating up bad teams. Bosh had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Bargnani added 21 points and the Raptors beat Grizzlies 103-82 on Friday night. Bosh shot 11-for-13 from the field and 10-for-12 from the line to help Toronto pull away in the fourth quarter and extend its home winning streak to a season-high three games… Rudy Gay scored 22 points for Memphis, which has lost 11 of 13. The Grizzlies have been held under 90 five times in the past six games… Hakim Warrick scored 18 and Kyle Lowry added 12 for Memphis, which has lost five straight on the road. The Grizzlies are 2-15 away from home.