Chris Bosh reaches for the basketball in a 93-86 Raptors win. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

No Jermaine O'Neal? No problem, because the Toronto Raptors still had Chris Bosh.

Bosh posted 39 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots in a remarkable performance as the Raptors beat the Charlotte Bobcats 93-86 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night.

"I'm trying to take my man quick, trying to get to the basket more," he said. "I'm trying to have a little bit of confidence in myself, of course, and, every night, I'm trying to bring it to the table."

"The way he has been playing, it just takes your breath away," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said.

Bosh nailed his first eight shots, finally missing 7:35 into the second quarter on a baseline jump shot that rimmed out.

He knocked down five more shots before missing a second time.

"I said, 'OK, it is one of those nights,'" Bosh said. "I just tried to keep it going, pace myself and run when I had the opportunity."

"I told our bench, 'I have seen him have a lot of great games but this is one of the special ones,'" Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said. "He gets better and better

"He is posting up better, he is putting it on the floor better … he is just a great basketball player."

Bosh hit a blistering 15 of 19 shots from the floor, including nine of his first 10, in a determined bid to make up for the absence of O'Neal.

"He controlled the game offensively and defensively," Bobcats forward Jared Dudley said. "You see why he is one of the best power forwards in the game.

"It is really hard to guard him. He gets to the free-throw line and his jump shot is much improved."

O'Neal sat out because he is nursing a strained left knee and a swollen left ankle sustained in consecutive losses to the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics, respectively.

The six-time all-star centre, acquired June 25 from the Indiana Pacers, missed 40 games last season because of a torn ligament in the knee, so he is cautious when it comes to injuries.

"I don't want to compromise our season," O'Neal said.

The Raptors were outscored 42-22 in the paint without O'Neal, but seldom-used forward Joey Graham picked up the offensive slack with 17 points in 21 spirited minutes off the bench.

"Joey gave us a huge lift, giving us energy and toughness," Mitchell said.

'We had our opportunities'

Toronto held a slim one-point lead with three minutes left, when Bosh hit a jump shot at one end and pulled down a rebound at the other to put the Raptors up 89-86.

With about 90 seconds on the clock, Raptors point guard Calderon drew three defenders on a baseline drive and passed into the key to Graham, who was credited with two points on a one-handed slam that was pulled out of the basket by Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace.

Raptors centre Andrea Bargnani held firm defensively on the ensuing possession, holding his ground to earn a charging foul on Bobcats point guard Ray Felton.

Calderon completed the scoring with a short-range jumper off a pick and roll with Bosh to put Toronto ahead 93-86 with 30.8 seconds remaining.

"You have got to play perfect at the end and we just missed so many easy shots," Brown said. "We had our opportunities and it didn't happen."

Bargnani finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Calderon had 10 points and nine assists for the Raptors (7-7).

More importantly, they provided stern defence, as did shooting guard Anthony Parker.

"I'm just proud of how the guys, as individuals, took up the challenge," Mitchell said. "Our team defence just kept getting better as the game went on."

Wallace led Charlotte with 23 points, followed by Emeka Okafor with 16 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.

Dudley and rookie D.J. Augustin had 13 points apiece for the Bobcats (4-9), who fell to 0-9 when failing to score more than 90 points.

Charlotte is 2-5 without its leading scorer Jason Richardson, who practised Tuesday for the first time since he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Nov. 12.

With files from the Canadian Press