Raptors Prevail Over Kings

Late in the first half Wednesday, Chris Bosh stole the ball from the hands of an unsuspecting Ron Artest, and in a reversal of roles, dribbled downcourt before laying the ball off to Jose Calderon who finished with the easy basket.

Bosh poured in 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the latest of a string of solid performances by the Raptors forward, leading Toronto to a 116-91 win over the Sacramento Kings.

“Chris was as efficient as one guy can be,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said after the win. “He just goes out and plays hard every night. And he tries to get better, he’s coachable, he listens to the things you tell him.

“The way he’s played the last week and a half, you can’t play any better.”

Carlos Delfino came off the bench to add a career-high 26 points for the Raptors (21-18), who bounced back from a loss the previous night at Detroit. Calderon finished with 17 points and 14 assists as five Raptors scored in double figures. Anthony Parker added 12 points, and Kris Humphries finished with 11.

“It all started with Jose taking care of the ball and Chris giving the ball up,” Mitchell said. “Once (Bosh) commands a double-team, he’s just got to make the first easy pass out of traffic, and he did that.”

It was fitting that both Bosh and Calderon hit career milestones on the night. Bosh became the team’s all-time leader in free throws made (1,789) and attempted (2,287), passing Vince Carter. Calderon reached 1,000 career assists — he now has 1,001 — becoming only the fifth Raptor to do so.

Bosh, coming off Eastern Conference player of the week honours, shot a sizzling 11-for-12 on the night, and connected on several monstrous dunks.

“I feel very confident in my game,” said Bosh, who added three steals and a pair of assists on the night. “I feel like my timing is great right now, I’m just trying to be aggressive, take nothing but good shots, and when I do have an open shot, shoot with confidence and just believe in myself, because I know my teammates believe in me.”

Kevin Martin had 22 points to top the Kings (15-22), while Mike Bibby finished with 19 in his season debut. The guard had missed Sacramento’s first 36 games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb in October.

The Raptors led for much of the night and were up by as much as 23 points before taking a 90-70 advantage into the fourth quarter at the Air Canada Centre.

A basket by Bosh with just over four minutes left in the game boosted Toronto’s lead to 25 points against a Kings team that was playing at full strength for the first time this season.

And then Calderon and Bosh headed to the bench to call it night, as the Raptors, who were coming off a 103-89 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday, cruised to one of its most solid victories of the season in front of 17,760 fans at the ACC. A pull-up jumper by Humphries with 1:23 left gave them a game-high 29-point lead.

“We just came back to our basketball, came back to play like we want to play, sharing the ball. We just find our wide-open guys,” Calderon said.

The Raptors shot 52 per cent on the night, while the Kings shot 47. Toronto also outrebounded the Kings 42-29. The big difference was ball distribution as the Raptors had 34 assists to the Kings’ 19.

“I think the whole team shot the ball well and the team ran the court,” said Delfino. “We shot the ball well and we were good defensively, which was a key for us.”

The Kings also had Artest back who had missed nine games with an injured right elbow. He finished with just four points in 29 minutes.

“Every time we make an adjustment when players come back, it’s not necessarily going to be an absolute transition because you have to make adjustments,” said Kings coach Reggie Theus. “Everybody’s got to find a different rhythm.”

Bosh believed the fact the Kings had a new-look lineup worked in Toronto’s favour.

“When I got the word Mike and Ron were coming back tonight, I kind of knew it was going to be different for them,” Bosh said. “We caught them at the right time.”

Both teams looked shaky in an error-filled opening quarter, accumulating eight turnovers apiece. A bad pass by Calderon with a second left on the clock led to a Miller layup that put the Kings up 28-22 heading into the second.

The Raptors opened the second quarter on a 22-7 run capped by three consecutive threes — two of them by Jason Kapono — and they were up 44-35. Toronto held on to lead 58-50 at halftime.

The Raptors opened the third on a 24-9 run, taking an 82-59 lead after Parker stole an errant Kings pass, and finished with a basket and a free throw. Toronto took a 90-70 lead into the fourth quarter.