New Orleans forward David West, right, reaches in on Jose Calderon during the first half. (Bill Haber/Assocuated Press)

The Toronto Raptors received a glimpse of what life would be like without Chris Bosh Friday night, and the picture wasn't very pretty.

With the injured forward watching from the bench, the Raptors squandered an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter en route to suffering a 101-92 loss to the hometown New Orleans Hornets.

Bosh travelled with the Raptors, losers of five straight, to New Orleans but didn't play due to a wonky knee. The all-star forward left Wednesday's 115-107 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter with a sprained right knee.

Talk of a Bosh-less Raptors was the main topic of conversation earlier this week when Toronto general manager downplayed a report ESPN radio analyst Stephen A. Smith, who said that Bosh won't be in a Raptors jersey when his current contract ends.

Bosh is signed with the Raptors through the 2009-10 season, with an option for 2010-11.

Like Toronto, New Orleans was missing its marquee player. Starting point guard Chris Paul missed his second consecutive game with a strained right groin. Peja Stojakovic stepped up in Paul's absence, scoring a game-high 28 points for the Hornets.

David West, Rasual Butler and James Posey each scored 17 points for New Orleans, who tied a franchise record with 15 three-pointers (Stojakovic had seven), snapping their four-game losing streak in the process.

"CP's out, we've got to have better ball movement and that's what we did, particularly in the fourth quarter," Stojakovic said. "When you move the ball, you get good looks."

Jermaine O'Neal led the way for the Raptors with 24 points and six rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon chipped in with 19 and 16 points, respectively.

Calderon returned to action after sitting out Wednesday's contest against Los Angeles Lakers to rest his sore right hamstring.

Raptors make a run

Toronto stumbled out of the gate and trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before going on an amazing 22-5 run to take a 41-38 lead with 1:13 left in the quarter.

Calderon scored 13 points in the second and the Raptors' zone defence forced nine turnovers in the quarter, allowing Toronto to take a 48-42 advantage into the halftime break.

The Hornets cut the mistakes and limited the turnovers after the break, fighting back to tie the game 72-72 early in the fourth quarter before going on an 11-0 run to erase an eight-point deficit and take a 86-83 lead with 4:33 left in regulation.

The Hornets never looked back after that.

"When those 3s start dropping, there isn't much you can do," Raptors forward Jamario Moon said. "A lot of them were contested and they were still knocking them down. I think they just got into a rhythm and they were feeling good."

The Raptors continue their three-game road trip Saturday night when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies before wrapping things up next Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bosh is listed as day-to-day, and the team has not said when he'll return to action.

With files from Associated Press