The ease with which the Toronto Raptors dismantled the Miami Heat on Wednesday likely eased the pain for injured rookie Jorge Garbajosa.

Garbajosa underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday to fix a displaced left ankle joint, a fractured fibula and a torn ligament suffered late in Monday's 95-87 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Chris Bosh reaches high for one of 17 rebounds in Wednesday's 96-83 win.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

But he was released from Toronto Western Hospital on Wednesday and watched on television as the Raptors rolled to a 96-83 win over the Heat in front of 19,800 fans at the Air Canada Centre.

"We wanted to come out and play hard for Garbo," Raptors swingman Morris Peterson said. 

Six Raptors picked up the slack by scoring in double figures as Toronto won for the third time in four games.

"This shows the character of the team," said Raptors swingman Anthony Parker, who led all scorers with 20 points. "In Jorge's absence, we did a great job all around."

Juan Dixon contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a rare start for the Raptors (39-32), who lead the NBA's Atlantic Division by six games with 11 to play.

Chris Bosh poured in 13 points and pulled down a game-best 17 rebounds to set a franchise record with 111 double-doubles, one more than Antonio Davis.

"I think everybody got up for it," Bosh said.

T.J. Ford scored 14 points and doled out a game-high nine assists.

Peterson came off the bench to net 11 points, and Kris Humphries impressed with six points and 10 rebounds (seven offensive).

"Kris Humphries and CB [Bosh] played huge," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "They kept giving us extra possessions.

"We didn't turn the ball over and we rebounded well and we beat a good basketball team. That was a good win for us."

O'Neal nullified by Nesterovic
 
Rasho Nesterovic not only defended Shaquille O'Neal, but had 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

O'Neal, who was limited by three early fouls, finished with 17 points and six rebounds for the Heat (38-33).

"We know he is a dominant force," Bosh said. "Everybody knows that, it's no secret.

"We knew what they were going to do, they were going to pass the ball into Shaq. We just had to make sure we kept the double-teams on him and kept our rotations down and made other guys beat us."

Eddie Jones scored 12 points for Miami followed by rookie Chris Quinn with 11.

Antoine Walker had 10 points, while Jason Williams was held to nine points — all in the first half.

The Raptors out-rebounded the Heat 53-35 overall, forcing the visitors to try to shoot from the perimeter, and resulting in 11 three-point baskets for Miami.

"They were really good, they were in it, they were at home," Heat head coach Pat Riley said of the Raptors.

"It was a huge game for them and us. A lot of it had to do with their overall commitment and preparation to play a big game."

Toronto took control off the opening tip, leading 31-15 through one quarter and stretching it to 22 points on a three-pointer by Parker midway through the second. 

Miami trailed 58-40 by the break, but fell behind by 23 points when Nesterovic scored on a reverse layup midway in the third. 

Toronto led 74-56 heading into the fourth and eased up enough to let the Heat cut the deficit to 92-83 with 1:36 remaining on Quinn's three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Jones.

With files from Sports Network