Wizards Edge Raptors In Overtime
Posted March 7, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — It’s nights like Friday, when the game’s on the line and a veteran’s poise is sorely needed, that the Toronto Raptors really miss Chris Bosh.
Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Washington Wizards to a 110-106 overtime victory over the Raptors, who played their fourth consecutive game without their all-star forward.
“You miss (Bosh) throughout the whole game. . . there are just certain plays Chris can make and other people can’t make,” said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. “You can put the ball in his hands and create matchups that other players just can’t, double teams and things of that nature.”
Andrea Bargnani had 27 points to top Toronto (33-28). Jose Calderon added 20 points and nine assists, while Carlos Delfino scored 17 points, Anthony Parker finished with 15, and Jamario Moon had 13.
The Raptors are 1-3 without Bosh during this most recent injury, a sore right knee that’s expected to keep him out at least part if not all of the upcoming five-game Western road trip, a key stretch in the final push to the playoffs. They’re 3-6 on the season without their leading scorer and rebounder.
“We miss Chris every game,” said Parker. “But I don’t think that’s an excuse, we just didn’t execute down the stretch.”
The Raptors trailed for much of the night against their Eastern Conference rival but finally found their game in the third quarter, when they parlayed an 11-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Toronto went into the fourth up 74-68 in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors allowed Washington back into the game with some defensive lapses in the fourth, and trailed the Wizards by five before a three-pointer by Parker cut the deficit to two. A pair of free throws by Bargnani with 13.9 seconds left sent the game into extra time.
Neither team led by more than a basket in overtime until Jamison’s four free throws. His second pair of free throws, with 30 seconds left, came thanks to a mental miscue by Bargnani, who fouled the Wizard veteran when he shouldn’t have.
“We weren’t supposed to foul because we knew if we were to get a miss we would get the ball back,” Mitchell said. “Those things happen sometimes. But we played hard, all the guys played hard, and it was just a tough basketball game.”
The Raptors were lucky to still be in the game, as the Wizards shot 50 per cent and held Toronto to 39. The Raptors’ also missed Bosh’s presence on the boards, outrebounded 49-38 by the visitors. Rasho Nesterovic topped Toronto with 12 rebounds.
“Defensively we could have done a better job at times, but to give yourself a chance and shoot the way we did, the effort was there,” Parker said.
Former Raptor Roger Mason Jr. added 18 for the Wizards (30-31).
“It was a hard fought game from both sides,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “Both teams competed, everyone played like men out there. That’s what this league is about. It was an exciting game.”
Bargnani’s strong performance came on the heels of speculation he may not play Friday after a frightening collision with the Heat’s Alexander Johnson in Miami on Wednesday.
Bargnani left the game in the third quarter after he was elbowed hard to the court, and the sophomore centre said his mouth was still very sore Friday.
Johnson was suspended a game for the foul.
Without Bosh, Bargnani carried the load in the frontcourt from the opening whistle, scoring Toronto’s first eight points en route to 10 in the first quarter. Still, the Raptors dug themselves a 10-point deficit with some shoddy shooting and rebounding in the quarter and trailed the Wizards 29-20 heading into the second.
Delfino’s hustle helped Toronto pull even at 35-35 early in the fourth quarter, when he finished off his third steal in just over two minutes with a driving dunk. But the Wizards used an 11-2 run to go back up by nine points and took a 53-45 advantage into halftime.
The Raptors poured it on the third behind nine points from Calderon, and took an eight-point lead late in the quarter with a 19-2 run. Toronto led 74-68 with one quarter left.
