Raptors Beat Knicks 102-96 In Seventh Game Without Hospitalized Star Chris Bosh

Somewhere, Chris Bosh was in a hospital room, hooked into an IV drip. Hedo Turkoglu, one of his Toronto Raptors teammates, was playing on an ankle so sore it needed a fresh wrapping of tape during the game, and yet another player was sent to the room for repairs on an open wound in the second half.

It was never going to be an easy night for the Raptors, who fended off injury to fend off their other opponent, the New York Knicks, in a 102-96 win at home Friday night. Swingman Sonny Weems finished with a career-high 20 points for the Raptors, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

David Lee led the Knicks with 23 points, while Amir Johnson finished with 14 points in place of Bosh, whose condition was not immediately known.

Bosh did not participate in the team’s ritual pre-game morning workout, suffering from what was initially described as an upset stomach by Raptors head coach Jay Triano. The condition appeared to worsen through the day, with the coach returning to tell reporters an hour before the game that his star player was in agony.

“Severe stomach cramps,” Triano said. “Can’t straighten up.”

It was not immediately known to which hospital Bosh was taken.

The 25-year-old had been sidelined since he sprained his left ankle in Toronto’s overtime loss to Memphis on Feb. 17, and there was no denying the impact his absence had on the team. After wins over New Jersey and Washington – two teams out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference – the Raptors dropped each of their next four games.

Bosh’s absence also underlined the potential long-term impact he could have on the team if he opted to sign elsewhere as a free agent this summer. Bosh will be part of a bumper crop that includes Cleveland star LeBron James and Miami’s Dwyane Wade.

Tracy McGrady, the New York swingman who fled Toronto as a free agent a decade ago, weighed in with his opinion before the game. He lamented the difficulty he had adjusting to life in Canada when he was a rookie, and suggested at least two reasons why Bosh may look to leave.

“Maybe he wants to start off fresh with another franchise, or maybe he’s doing it for tax reasons,” McGrady said earlier Friday. “I’m not speaking (for) Chris Bosh, I’m just saying (for) the individual that wants to move on. There’s different reasons why a guy wouldn’t want to play here.”

The men who do play in Toronto held a one-point edge over McGrady and the Knicks at halftime, a 53-52 lead constructed by a shared offensive output. Turkoglu led the Raptors with nine points at the break despite having to leave the floor in the second quarter to get a new tape job on his ankle.

Johnson and Weems each had eight points. It remained tight into the third quarter, when Bargnani was forced to seek medical attention for a cut on the back of his head. He returned later in the quarter, with the Raptors holding a 70-67 lead.

Toronto opened a nine-point lead with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but let it slip to four when Danilo Gallinari hit a three-pointer a minute later. Gallinari sliced that 92-88 lead in half moments later to heighten the crowd’s anxiety.

Jose Calderon, who had fought back from an elbow injury of his own, quelled the unease with a jump shot to restore a six point lead with three minutes to play.