November 18,2007

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(TORONTO) - Long after Toronto's loss to Golden State on Sunday, Chris Bosh sat slumped in his locker, looking more dejected than he had in a long time,

The all-star forward had another tough outing, and the Raptors blew a lead they'd held for most of the game in the final few minutes en route to a 106-100 loss to the Warriors.

``I'm just not there, there's not much I can say ... passing, scoring, shooting, it's just not there for me,'' said Bosh. ``I just have to be patient, as hard as that may be.

``It's a little tough, but I've been through stuff like this before.''

Bosh, who is still playing catchup after missing much of the pre-season with an injury to his right knee, had 11 points and 11 rebounds, but also had six turnovers.

T.J. Ford topped Toronto (5-5) with 29 points and eight assists. Andrea Bargnani finished with 12 points, and Jason Kapono added 11.

Stephen Jackson scored 17 points in his first appearance of the regular season to lead the Warriors (2-6). Baron Davis added 16 points and nine rebounds, Kelenna Azubuike also had 16 points, while Andris Biedrins had 15 points and 14 boards.

The Raptors led for most of the game against a struggling Golden State squad that was coming off just its first win of the season two nights earlier against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Toronto took an 88-80 advantage into the fourth quarter and looked headed for a win to wrap up their three-game homestand in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre.

But then they went cold. The Raptors scored just 12 points in the fourth.

``We hit a drought in the fourth quarter,'' Ford said. ``Things just shifted in the fourth quarter.''

The Warriors went on a run sparked by seven straight points from Davis, and took the lead for good on a three by Austin Croshere with 3:51 left. A basket by Davis put the visitors up 103-95 with 1:41 left to play. When Bosh missed a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left, the fans still in their seats at the ACC booed.

``I just think we've all just got to find a way to get in a groove at the same time,'' Ford said. ``Once everybody gets one or two games where we're all playing well at the same time, I think that will help everybody's confidence.''

In spite of the loss, the Raptors' record for their first 10 games is better than the 2-8 they opened with last season, Bosh noted.

``We're still in a better position than we've been since I've been here,'' the Raptors forward said. ``We know we're not playing as well as we can, and we're still. 500 and we're still in the middle of the Eastern Conference as opposed to the bottom.''

But they continue to struggle at home. The Raptors are 2-4 at the ACC and went 1-2 on their three-game homestand.

``We've just got to find a way to play better, man. We're giving up too many wins here on the homecourt,'' said Ford. ``The case right now, maybe it's good for us to stay on the road.''

Ford didn't score in the fourth quarter, but the point guard's performance still drew rave reviews from Warriors coach Don Nelson.

``He's a handful. He's as close to (Steve) Nash as anyone I've seen,'' Nelson said.

Jackson, meanwhile, made his first appearance after being suspended for the season's first seven games after pleading guilty to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside an Indiana strip club last fall.

``Just to get back with my team, not only getting the win, but being back with my family, it felt really good,'' Jackson said. ``I am not in the best shape yet, but getting the win is definitely a great start.''

The Warriors shot 47 per cent on the night to top Toronto's 44 per cent, and outrebounded the Raptors 47-46. Golden State clobbered Toronto inside, outscoring the Raptors 54-36 in the paint.

The Raptors struggled from long range, shooting 4-for-22 from the three-point line.

Raptors coach Sam Mitchell argued that the team didn't settle for too many threes, saying ``that's not too bad against this team.''

In celebration of ``Italian Day,'' the Raptors wore the red, green and white jerseys they wore in Rome as part of NBA Europe Live. The game marked the first NBA meeting between Raptors Italian sophomore Bargnani, and Golden State's resident Italian Marco Belinelli.

The Raptors got out to another slow start Sunday, falling behind by 11 points five minutes into the game. But Ford's 13 points in the first helped the Raptors salvage the quarter and they trailed 32-29 heading into the second.

Toronto shot 56 per cent in the second, a slam dunk by Moon giving the Raptors their first lead of the game at 3:13 of the second. Toronto had a 61-58 advantage at the break.

The Warriors tied the game 69-69 on a running jumper by Azubuike early in the third, but the Raptors outscored Golden State 19-11 to the end of the quarter, and a pull-up jump shot by Ford at the buzzer gave Toronto an 88-80 lead heading into the fourth.

NOTES: The Raptors head on the road for three games at Dallas, Memphis and Cleveland. ... Actress Jessica Alba was at the game.