| |
|
|
| |
Chris Bosh
Points: 29
Rebounds: 14
|
| |
| He said he was going to shoot three’s this year. I told him okay. He worked on it. He hit two tonight. -Mitchell
|
| |
The Raptors were 7/19 from behind the arc.
|
| |
| Team |
RB |
ST |
BLK |
TOT |
| PHI |
53 |
6 |
12 |
71 |
| TOR |
45 |
8 |
5 |
58
|
|
|
November 8, 2006
TORONTO (CP) -- When Chris Bosh launched his huge looping three-pointer that sealed the victory for the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, it was clear his long summer of hard work had paid off.
The Raptors all-star sunk a 32-foot shot with 6.1 seconds left on the clock to lead the Raptors to a thrilling 106-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
``We wanted Chris to get the ball but obviously not at halfcourt,'' said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. ``Chris Bosh, words can't describe how he's playing and the challenge he's taking. The scary thing is, he's 22 years old.''
Chris Bosh did everything but cook the team meal on Wednesday. (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)
|
Bosh finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds to top Toronto (2-2) and lead five Raptors who scored in double figures. Joey Graham added 16, Fred Jones had 13, and Morris Peterson and T.J. Ford had 11 apiece.
Allen Iverson, the league's leading scorer, had 35 to top Philly (3-2).
The Raptors led until midway through the third quarter, despite some horrible shooting, and took a two-point lead into the fourth. The two teams virtually traded basket for basket in a thrilling fourth quarter, and the game was tied with just over six seconds left.
Bosh had worked on his three-point shooting diligently in the off-season, so he could pull it out in an emergency situation like Wednesday. Chris Webber briefly knocked the ball out of Bosh's hands, and the Raptor scrambled to corral it, turning and shooting over the Sixers forward with less than a second on the shot clock. The ball looked headed for the rafters when it left his hands and then dropped through the hoop, to the delight of the crowd of 15,831.
``(Webber) didn't give me much room. I wanted to take a shot that was on-balance. As soon as I let it go I knew it was in though,'' Bosh said afterwards.
Mitchell collapsed in disbelief on the scorers' table.
``I think it surprised everybody in the building, but he showed what he's capable of doing,'' Ford said. ``Big-time players come up with big-time shots at the right time, and he made his shot.''
The three was Bosh's second of the regular season his first came seven minutes into Wednesday's game. Last season, he went 0-for-13 from three-point range, and he's 10-for-40 on his career.
Bosh was nonchalant about the shot in the locker-room after the game, praising the play of his teammates.
``We just kept our tempo tonight, that's what I'm proud about,'' Bosh said. ``Even though they scored, we didn't hang our heads, we just got the ball out and kept running and got some easy baskets instead of having to work for it.''
Iverson, who came into the game averaging a league-high 30.5 points, shot 12-for-26 and added a game-high 10 assists.
Samuel Dalembert, a native of Haiti who played high school basketball in Montreal, added 13 points and a game-high 18 rebounds for Philly before fouling out with just under a minute to play.
The game was far from perfect for Toronto. Philly outshot the Raptors 49 per cent to 41, and outrebounded them 53-45.
``We did a lot of things not well, we didn't shoot well, we missed some free throws, but I thought our guys just kept fighting,'' Mitchell said. ``We just found a way.''
Iverson was frustrated after the loss.
``We shoot 50 per cent from the field and they shoot 40. We outrebound them and still lose by two,'' Iverson said. ``That's tough and it is hard to say anything negative about us, or our performance. But when it is all said and done, they got the win.''
With Bosh scoring 13 first-quarter points and the Raptors shooting 46 per cent, Toronto took a nine-point lead late in the first quarter Wednesday, the Raptors led 28-21 heading into the second.
The Raptors' shooting went south in the second quarter though. They made just six of 23 shots and the Sixers pulled within two points on a dunk by Dalembert with 2:19 left. The Raptors still led 45-50 at halftime.
The Sixers took their first lead of the game with 6:03 left in the third, then an Iverson jump shot put Philadelphia ahead by four points, but Toronto fought back to lead 71-69 with a quarter left.
NOTES: In keeping with the league's zero tolerance policy for talking back to the refs this season, Webber was slapped with a technical in the second quarter for arguing a call. ... The Raptors host Atlanta on Friday before heading out on a five-game western road swing, beginning Sunday at Sacramento.
