Raptors soar over Howard's Magic
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 | 10:18 PM ET
CBC Sports
Dwight Howard dazzled with his comic book hero antics during last weekend's slam-dunk contest, but it was Chris Bosh and the Raptors who looked more like Supermen on Wednesday night.
Bosh scored a game-high 40 points on otherworldly 14-of-16 shooting to lead Toronto to a 127-110 win over fellow all-star Howard and the visiting Orlando Magic.
The Raptors' Anthony Parker, left, and Andrea Bargnani, right, put the squeeze on Magic centre Dwight Howard during the first half of Wednesday's game in Toronto.
(J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)
"When Chris is making his jump shot, he is just too hard to guard," said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, who returned to the sidelines after missing the last two games while attending his father-in-law's funeral in Atlanta.
"He can go around, left and right, and he can shoot it. I told the coaches at halftime, when we went into the locker room, to just leave him alone, don't coach him because he doesn't need our help right now."
Bosh nailed all 11 of his free throws and added five rebounds and five assists for the Raptors (29-23), who shot 59 per cent from the floor.
Howard, who donned a Superman cape as part of the act that won Saturday's dunk competition during NBA all-star weekend in New Orleans, was a force in his own right Wednesday, finishing with 37 points and 15 rebounds.
Like many of Howard's opponents, the Raptors had considerable difficulty preventing the impossibly broad-shouldered centre from dominating in the post. Using his 6-foot-11, 265-pound frame to bulldoze in for several easy dunks, Howard finished 13-of-16 from the field.
But the 22-year-old star had troubles of his own against Bosh, who preferred a face-the-basket approach in attacking Howard.
"There was not one thing they did that we could guard," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "Chris Bosh, we could not guard. We're going to have to think about double-teaming him next time."
The Raptors led by as many as 21 points in the second half before Orlando closed the gap to 10 with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Magic hung around for a while before Jose Calderon drained back-to-back three-pointers and lobbed a pass to Jamario Moon for a thunderous dunk that made it 119-103 and all but sealed the game with three minutes to go.
Calderon notches 13 assists
Van Gundy was unimpressed with his team's attempted comeback.
"Those kinds of runs happen all the time in the NBA," he said. "All [Mitchell] did was put Calderon and Bosh back in and game over."
The alley-oop to Moon was one of Calderon's game-high 13 assists on the night. He also scored 19 points while turning the ball over just once.
Carlos Delfino scored 23 points in 29 minutes off the Raptors bench, while Moon added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Anthony Parker chipped in 10 points.
Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis notched 16 points apiece for Orlando (34-22). Jameer Nelson had 13, Maurice Evans 12, and Keith Bogans 11.
Toronto was without oft-injured point guard T.J. Ford, who is day-to-day after straining an abdominal muscle in practice Monday. Ford missed 30 games with neck-related problems earlier this season.
The Raptors open a home-and-home series with the Knicks on Friday night in New York.
Share Tools
Latest Toronto News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Lin, Knicks stun Raptors with rally
- Jeremy Lin, the NBA phenomenon who went from a seldom-used player to the league's hottest story in the span of a week, drained a three-point shot with 0.5 seconds on the clock to lift the New York Knicks to their sixth consecutive victory, 90-87 over the Toronto Raptors. more »
- Woodbridge family uses social media in search for transplant
- A 22-year-old Woodbridge, Ont. woman and her family are searching desperately for a bone marrow transplant that could save her life, Marivel Taruc reports. more »
- Nexus cards now let U.S.-bound fliers fast-track screening
- Travellers under Canada's Nexus program will be able to use their cards in new, faster security lines when flying to the United States from eight cities starting Wednesday, Transport Minister Denis Lebel says. more »
Top News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- CN blamed for fatal train derailment in Illinois
- CN is being blamed for a 2009 train derailment in Illinois, in which several cars went off the tracks and caught fire, killing one person and injuring seven others. more »
- Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
- Ontario 'confinement room' arrest made
- Toronto NBA fans prepare for 'Lin-sanity'
- Fords plan 'Save Our Subways' campaign
- McGuinty hints at pay freeze for public sector execs
- Ban Wi-Fi in classroom, Ontario teachers union urges
- CBC digital music service launched
- Ultimate Tazer Ball combines shock and soccer
- Ontario government to sell LCBO headquarters
The Raptors' Anthony Parker, left, and Andrea Bargnani, right, put the squeeze on Magic centre Dwight Howard during the first half of Wednesday's game in Toronto.
