Chris Bosh had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani continued his hot stretch with 21 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 103-82 last night.
Bosh had one of his best shooting games from the season, going 11-for-13 from the floor as Toronto (16-21) won for the fourth time in five games -- and third in a row at home -- despite being without starting centre Jermaine O'Neal (right knee) and point guard Jose Calderon (right hamstring). Bargnani had another efficient night as the starting centre, going 8-for-14 from the floor and adding eight rebounds. The seven-footer came into the game averaging 21.8 points over his past five games, the best stretch of his career.
Jason Kapono added 11 points while Will Solomon chipped in with 10 points and nine assists in front of 18,486 at the Air Canada Centre.
Rudy Gay replied with 22 points for the pesky Grizzlies (11-26), who stuck around for two-and-a-half quarters but ran out of steam down the stretch to lose for the 11th time in 13 games. Hakim Warrick added 15 points, while rookie-of-the-year candidate O.J. Mayo was held to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
While Bosh and Gay matched baskets in an entertaining third-quarter duel, Bargnani gave the Raptors some much needed breathing room, hitting back-to-back three pointers that turned a tie game into a six-point Toronto advantage. The Raptors stretched the lead further, a Solomon layup with 27.7 seconds left in the quarter sending them into the final quarter leading 72-61.
Bargnani added a long jumper and one-handed dunk early in the fourth quarter before heading to the bench with four fouls. Bosh re-entered in Bargnani's place, and promptly knocked down a wide-open jumper and a pair of free throws to reach the 30-point plateau.
Bargnani's third three-pointer of the game with 3:35 left gave Toronto a 95-74 lead.
