Raptors down Knicks, clinch 3rd playoff seed
Last Updated: Sunday, April 15, 2007 | 10:44 PM ET
CBC Sports
Toronto Raptors clinched home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs Sunday night with a 107-105 victory over the New York Knicks at the Air Canada Centre.
The win, the club's sixth straight, equalled the best record in franchise history and moved Toronto to 47-33 on the season with two games to play, putting them out of reach for the trailing Miami Heat in the battle for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jose Calderon battles with New York's Eddy Curry during Toronto's 107-105 victory on Sunday night at the Air Canada Centre.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
New York, long eliminated from the post-season and missing star guard Stephon Marbury due to injury, fell to 32-48.
Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 23 points, eight rebounds and a strong seven assists. Joey Graham, playing another strong game for the injured Jorge Garbajosa, contributed 19 points, while guard Jose Calderon had 18 points and six assists off the bench.
For New York, big centre Eddy Curry had 30 to lead all scorers in the losing effort, and added eight rebounds. However,he also had six turnovers. Steve Francis scored 28 and Mardy Collins came within two rebounds of a triple-double on 12 points, 11 assists and eight boards.
Raptor coach Sam Mitchell was all business afterwards, despite what his team has accomplished.
"What is there to celebrate? We're happy but we've still got the playoffs looming, so you've got to continually expect more for yourself," he said.
"It's a good thing: We're happy, we're proud about what we've done up to this point. But we're going to ... get into the playoffs and make some noise."
The win didn't come easily for Toronto. New York had the ball, down three with eight seconds to go, coming off a timeout. Francis powered down the lane for the basket, making it 104-103 with four seconds on the clock.
Inbounding in the front court, Calderon found Graham wide-open on the baseline for an easy two and the foul. Graham hit the extra shot for the victory.
Dixon, Calderon shine
Toronto had built a 99-90 lead with under three minutes left, thanks in large part to excellent defence by Juan Dixon (two steals) and strong shooting by Calderon (six points) in the quarter. But a 9-1 Knicks run put New York right back into the contest, trailing by one just inside of a minute to go.
Bosh hit a baseline 16-footer for a three point lead and, coming off a timeout, New York's Francis tried an ill-advised three pointer from deep in the corner that hit the edge of the backboard, turning the ball over with 36 seconds left.
Calderon then missed on a drive down the lane and the Raptors fouled Francis in transition. He made two foul shots to cut Toronto's lead to 102-101 with 10.4 seconds to go.
New York fouled Bosh on the inbounds play and the Raptors captain drained two foul shots for a three-point lead, setting up the Knicks' final attempt that led to Francis's miss.
Bosh says he isn't surprised by what the team has done.
"I've always thought that this was going to be a great team this year," he said. "Every time a goal was set, and we accomplished it, it's a great feeling.
"But I'm really not surprised because we have so many great guys in this locker room, and the coaching staff, to where, whatever we accomplish, it's meant for us."
The first half of Sunday's game belonged to the Knicks, thanks to strong play from Francis and Curry, the former contributing 15 points and the latter 17 points and four rebounds. Curry also had four turnovers.
A 32-20 second quarter had New York up by nine at the half as the Knicks solidly outrebounded Toronto 19-11.
Graham nets six in third
Raptors came back in the third, outscoring the Knicks by eight as guard Anthony Parker got hot, dropping in eight, and Graham had six of his own. Off the bench, Calderon contributed eight in the quarter.
This was all despite continued dominance on the boards by New York.
Raptors have two games remaining, Tuesday in Detroit against the Pistons and Wednesday at home to the Philadelphia 76ers, before the playoffs begin on the weekend.
Right now, the injury ravaged Washington Wizards are in line to be the first-round opponent, but they only have a one game lead, with two each to go, on the charging New Jersey Nets.
A Nets-Raptors matchup would pit a Toronto lineup designed by first-year general manager Bryan Colangelo, against Vince Carter, who represented the old guard of the club before he was traded to New Jersey in May 2004.
There's also an outside chance of a meeting with the Orlando Magic.
