Parker leads Bosh-less Raptors past Seattle
Nesterovic tosses in season-high 17 filling in for missing all-star
Last Updated: Sunday, March 9, 2008 | 7:51 PM ET
CBC Sports
Chris Bosh may not be back in the game yet, but at least the Toronto Raptors are back in the fight.
Playing their fifth straight game without their all-star forward since Bosh went down with a knee injury, the Raptors came up with a 114-106 victory over the hapless Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday afternoon at the Air Canada Centre.
Toronto guard T.J. Ford, right, runs into heavy defence from Seattle's Luke Ridnour during the Raptors' victory over the visiting Sonics on Sunday afternoon.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
The victory moved the Raps to 34-28 and within 1.5 games of the idle Cleveland Cavaliers in the battle for fourth place, and home-court advantage, in the first round of the playoffs.
Anthony Parker led the Raptors with 23 points, and Rasho Nesterovic scored a season-high 17 to go with six rebounds and six assists. Andrea Bargnani had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Carlos Delfino contributed 15 points off the bench.
"Rasho is a pro," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of the man taking Bosh's spot in the front court. "He never complains and is always ready to play. That's something our young players need to learn from."
Nesterovic has scored 16-plus points in three of the last five game. On Sunday, the big Slovenian added another wrinkle to his game by topping the Raptors in assists.
"I can't remember (the last time he led his team in assists)," Nesterovic said laughing. "They don't let big guys pass, because they don't trust them. I finally found a team that trusts big guys."
Sonics had 22 turnovers
Seattle dropped to 16-47, with a young team that has a bad habit of coughing up the ball. Against the Raptors, the Sonics turned the leather over 22 times for 30 Raptor points.
Chris Wilcox had an outstanding 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Sonics, with Kevin Durant getting 20 points.
"I thought the Raptors played extremely well," said Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo. "They just executed, made shots, and really did a good job. We felt going in that we couldn't turn the ball over, and that's been a major problem to begin with, but especially against a team like Toronto … 22 turnovers for 30 points, you shouldn't even be in the game."
It was a key win for the Raptors, who start a five-game swing through the Western Conference on Tuesday night at the Staples Center against the sizzling Los Angeles Lakers.
They haven't played well without Bosh, going 2-3, and may have to play at least the front part of the road trip without the big scorer and rebounder.
Toronto trailed 58-54 after the club put in a poor first half. But the Raptors came out hard in the third quarter, taking a 10-point lead into the final 12 minutes.
The Sonics closed to within seven with just over three minutes left in the game before the hosts pulled away for good.
1st half a struggle
Nothing went the way Raptors coach Sam Mitchell drew it up in the first half.
Seattle shot 64.7 per cent from the floor, and was allowed to run wild in transition, hustling the ball up on the Toronto defence as the Sonics built a 58-54 lead.
What kept the Raptors in the game was 13 Seattle turnovers (tops in the league) producing 20 points.
Wilcox had 13 points for Seattle in the half, with Watson grabbing 10 points.
Delfino, off the bench, came up with 11 to lead Toronto, the last two on an aggressive dribble-and-drive down the court with seconds remaining.
The Raptors shot 43.1 per cent in the first 24 minutes and 48.9 per cent overall.
With files from the Canadian Press
