Bosh, Raptors down Nets

Feb 15, 2007, 3:55 GMT

Toronto, ON - Chris Bosh had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Toronto Raptors past the New Jersey Nets, 120-109, at Air Canada Centre.

Morris Peterson added 18 points and seven boards while T.J. Ford netted 17 and dished out eight assists for the Raptors, who head into the All-Star break with a 4 1/2 game lead over the Nets in the Atlantic Division. Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker each scored 16 in the win, Toronto's second straight and 12th in its last 15 contests.

Bostjan Nachbar poured in a career-best 26 points and also grabbed eight rebounds while Eddie House and Marcus Williams chipped 19 points apiece for the Nets, who have lost two in a row. Vince Carter had 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the loss.

'Toronto's playing great,' said Nets head coach Lawrence Frank. 'You've got to give them credit, but with 28 games remaining I don't think you can be watching what Toronto does. They've played great, but what we need to do is continue to get healthy and get better.'

Parker's jumper gave the Raptors a 65-53 advantage, but New Jersey tallied 14 of the next 17 points, highlighted by treys from Carter and Williams, narrowing the gap to 72-67.

Nachbar's three cut the deficit to 84-81, but the Raptors ended the quarter on a high note, as Clifford Robinson turned over the ball with nearly eight ticks on the clock and Andrea Bargnani drained a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded for a 93-86 lead heading into the final frame.

Nachbar's trey brought the Nets within 99-95 with under eight minutes to play, but that was as close as they would get. Toronto responded with a 12-2 run to put the game away,

A 14-4 run, capped by Ford's layup, early in the game gave the Raptors a 17-9 lead and they held a 32-23 margin after the opening 12 minutes of play.

The Nets really picked it up in the second quarter as they shot 64 percent from the field in the frame led by House and Nachbar, who combined to score 18 of New Jersey's first 20 points in the period.

House's jumper evened the game at 45, but the Raptors closed the half with a 16-6 spurt, including nine points from Ford, for a 61-51 halftime lead.

Toronto connected on 16-of-16 from the line in the first half, while the Nets turned the ball over 11 times.

Game Notes

The Nets are 11-15 on the road.

New Jersey guard Jason Kidd missed his second straight game with a strained lower back and will miss Sunday's All-Star Game in Las Vegas. Atlanta guard Joe Johnson will take place.

Bargnani finished with 15 points.

Toronto connected on 59 percent of its shots from the field, including 10-of-18 from long distance, while New Jersey shot 51 percent from the floor, including 14-of-28 from beyond the arc.

The Raptors were 24-of-27 from the line, compared to the Nets, who shot 13-of-19 from the charity stripe.

The Raptors have won two of the last three meetings.

© 2007 The Sports Network