Chris Bosh saved one of his finest performances for basketball's biggest stage.

The Raptors star poured in 40 points — just two shy of his career high — on Friday night to lead his team to a 99-90 win over the hapless Knicks at New York's famed Madison Square Garden.

The Raptors' Chris Bosh, right, drives past the Knicks' Fred Jones during Friday's game at Madison Square Garden. Bosh finished with 40 points in a 99-90 Toronto win.
(Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Bosh, who shot 14 of 30 from the floor and 12 of 15 from the line, also grabbed 11 rebounds as Toronto improved to 19-17 this season.

Bosh's stellar play led to the benchings of New York big men Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry, who were removed after proving unable — or willing — to stop the Toronto forward.

"We know that their two bigs in the beginning of the game, we had an advantage over them with our quickness moving laterally and up and down the court," Bosh said. "So I just wanted to kind of exploit that and get going a little early."

Jamario Moon chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, while Anthony Parker had 13 points and eight boards. Point guard Jose Calderon was his typical efficient self, scoring nine points and dishing out eight assists while turning the ball over just once.

Jamal Crawford led New York with 27 points, and Nate Robinson added 24. Stephon Marbury (13 points) was the only other player to reach double figures for the Knicks (9-26), whose win total is tied for third worst in the league.

Curry played just 15 minutes, finishing with six points and two rebounds. Randolph was benched the final 31-plus minutes and appeared frustrated with Knicks coach Isiah Thomas when he was removed for good. Randolph was yanked 20 seconds after committing an offensive foul with 7:35 remaining in the first half.

"Any player would get upset because they want to play," Randolph said. "I want to play. I love playing. I want to be out there."

Hostile crowd

Thomas defended his decisions to bench his talented big men following another rough night that saw the coach serenaded in the second half with the "Fire Isiah!" chants that have become a staple this season from disgruntled Garden fans.

"I thought [Randolph] and Eddy both were just having problems with the foot speed of Toronto tonight and it was just a tough game to match up particularly for those two," Thomas said. "I just tried to go with quicker people and try to get us back in the game."

Toronto never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 17-4 lead around the midway point of the first quarter and all but cruising from there as the Knicks never got closer than five points.

"We wanted to put the pressure on them," Bosh said. "We knew that the crowd wasn't going to be that friendly if we jumped on them quick and that's kind of what happened."

New York did manage to trim its deficit to seven with a minute and a half left as Robinson converted a Kris Humphries turnover into a layup, but the Knicks didn't threaten Toronto's advantage any further.

That play came immediately after Bosh missed a jumper that would have given him 42 points and matched the career high he set in a loss in Phoenix on Dec. 22.

The Raptors return home Sunday for a matinee date with the Portland Trail Blazers (CBC, 12:30 p.m. ET).

With files from the Associated Press