Raptors Beat Knicks to Earn Home-Court

With Sunday’s victory over the New York Knicks, the Toronto Raptors crossed off their third and final goal they had set for this successful regular-season by securing home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Chris Bosh had 23 points, eight rebounds and a season-high seven assists as the Raptors tied their franchise record for wins in a season and notched their sixth consecutive victory, edging the Knicks 107-105.

The win is Toronto’s 47th of the season, equaling their previous best set in 2000-2001.

But the celebrations will have to wait, as the Raptors will tell you they’re far from finished.

“What is there to celebrate? We’re happy but we’ve still got the playoffs looming, so you’ve got to continually expect more for yourself,” head coach Sam Mitchell said.

“It’s a good thing, we’re happy, we’re proud about what we’ve done up to this point. But we’re going to try to get into the playoffs and make some noise.”

Five Raptors finished in double figures. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham finished with 19 points apiece, Jose Calderon had 18 and Kris Humphries had 12.

Eddy Curry topped the Knicks (32-48) with 30 points, while Steve Francis added 28.

With two games to go, the Raptors will finish third in the Eastern Conference, earning home-court for the first time in franchise history.

While Sunday’s victory may have been historic, it certainly wasn’t pretty.

The Knicks had already been eliminated from post-season contention with Friday’s loss to New Jersey, and when Francis hauled down Parker from behind to earn a flagrant foul in the third quarter, it was indicative of an ugly affair full of bodies flying and players griping at the referees.

The visitors led by as many as twelve points in the first half and took a 78-77 lead into the fourth quarter as the game came down to the final few seconds.

The Raptors were up by nine points with just under three minutes to play.

But the Knicks rallied in the final two minutes, Francis cutting Toronto’s lead to a point with a basket with 3.4 seconds left.
 
Graham sealed the victory, in front of a full house of 19,800 happy fans at the Air Canada Centre, when he took an inbounds pass, drove to the basket and was fouled, converting the three-point play with 2.2 seconds left.
 
The Knicks dominated the boards for most of the night, holding the Raptors to just 10 rebounds in the first half and outrebounding their hosts 38-26 on the night.

The Raptors did shoot a decent 52 per cent on the night, and pestered the Knicks into 20 turnovers for 22 points. They outscored the Knicks 16-0 on fast-break points.

Parker set the pace with 10 points in the first quarter, and the Raptors shot 55 per cent in the frame. Still, they couldn’t put any more than four points on the Knicks and led 30-27 heading into the second.

The Knicks took a 59-50 lead into the break.

The Raptors opened the third with an 18-9 run to finally regain the lead midway through the quarter.

The Knicks took a 78-77 advantage into the fourth.

The Raptors wrap up the regular season with games Tuesday at Detroit, and their regular-season finale Wednesday at home against the Philadelphia 76ers.