Red-Hot Pistons Handle Raptors At A.C.C.
Posted January 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Raptors were no match for the red-hot Detroit Pistons on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre.
The Pistons won their 11th straight with a commanding 101-85 victory over the purple dinos.
Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 22 points while Rasheed Wallace had 20 points and Chauncey Billups finished with 18.
Andrea Bargnani put up the best numbers for the losing side, notching 25 points while Chris Bosh had 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Jose Calderon had 15 points and nine assists.
“Their execution was flawless,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of the Pistons . “They’re smart basketball players. They’re just a deep talented basketball team. Probably four of those guys are going to be on the all-star team this year.
“They won 11 games in a row for a reason.”
The Pistons, who have dominated against Eastern Conference opponents, led by as many as 13 points early in the third quarter and were a step ahead of their opponents throughout the game. The Raptors didn’t give up though, and cut the lead to 69-64 at the end of the third.
But the Pistons kicked off the fourth with a 6-0 run and didn’t look back.
“We were toe to toe with them for pretty much the whole game,” said Toronto ‘s Chris Bosh. “But they put us to sleep a little bit, they were real methodical. And then when it was time to make plays, they just turned it on and they were really aggressive.”
