Led by Bosh, Raptors drop Pacers for fifth straight win

By Holly MacKenzie, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 31, 2010 10:48PM

TORONTO (NBA.com exclusive) -- Another solid performance from Chris Bosh resulted in the Toronto Raptors' fifth straight victory.

While Bosh has been putting up big numbers all season, he got plenty of help on Sunday night in a 117-102 win over the Indiana Pacers as six of his teammates reached double figures.

For Pacers coach Jim O'Brien, though, it was all about Bosh.

"Bosh was just too much for us," O'Brien said. "He's a great basketball player."

Danny Granger also had high praise for Bosh saying, "He's going to be an All-Star every year until he's probably about 35."

Bosh poured in 26 points and 15 rebounds to notch his 35th double-double of the season. He also added seven assists and two blocks in 37 minutes.

"He's trouble for anybody we put on him," O'Brien continued. "We've tried over the years to put big guys on him. It doesn't work. We've tried to put small guys on him. It doesn't seem to work either. I don't know if we have somebody to play Bosh, to tell you the truth."

It wasn't just Bosh, as the Pacers were not able to stop any of the Raptors, allowing Toronto to shoot a season-best 60 percent. In addition to Bosh's big night, Andrea Bargnani added 17 points and Jarrett Jack scored 16 on just eight attempts. Sonny Weems added a career-high 13 in his third straight start for rookie DeMar DeRozan, who has been sidelined with an ankle sprain.

The Raptors got the win despite losing starter Hedo Turkoglu in the opening minutes. Taking an elbow to the eye, Turkoglu sustained a small, non-displaced fracture of the orbital bone under his right eye and did not return.

"We have a strong bench," Bosh said. "I think that was one of the keys to our success this year how our bench was going to play. Just play hard, play with passion and play defense every night. Amir does a great job, Antoine stepped in and did a great job and of course, Jose is always solid."

After Toronto managed to build a 16-point lead in the third, the Pacers raced back. Opening the fourth on an 11-2 run, Indiana tied the game at 97-97. But when the Raptors responded, the Pacers faded, allowing Toronto to close the game on a 20-5 run.

"This is a tough team to guard because they are all perimeter guys and we have to try and stay with our bigs," Raptors coach Jay Triano said. "I thought it took us a half to get into it and then we held them to 38 percent in the second half."

In the fourth, Indiana scored just one field goal over the final 7:21 minutes.

"We went on a run there at the end of the third quarter but we weren't able to sustain it and they put us away," Pacers' Troy Murphy said.

The postgame scene in the Pacers locker room was similar to the last time they were in Toronto.

Danny Granger, sitting silently in his locker, helplessly shaking his head. Before and after going to shower he stopped to stare blankly at a stack of boxscores. Playing in foul trouble for most of the game, he was unable to find a rhythm offensively.

"It's a tough guard," Granger said of being matched against Bosh. "He's an All-Star. I've played well against him in the past, but I'm already outsized and once I get in foul trouble there's not much I can do with him. Hats off to him, he played a good game."

Still staring straight ahead, Granger summed up the outcome simply.

"Team shoots 60 percent, you'll lose every time."

• Pacers: Diener, Foster, Hansbrough
• Raptors: DeRozan, Evans

• Pacers: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, OT
• Officials: #18 Mark Wunderlich, #25 Tony Brothers, #11 Phil Robinson
• Attendance: 16715
• Duration: 2:10