Bosh powers Raptors to double-OT victory over Blazers
TORONTO: Chris Bosh powered his way to 38 points to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 116-109 double-overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Bosh also had a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.
"Defensively, we had no answer for Bosh," Portland coach Nate McMillan told reporters after the Trail Blazers lost for only the second time in 19 games.
Brandon Roy kept Portland in the game with 33 points and 10 assists. His 3-pointer forced a second overtime.
Bosh then took over, collecting four consecutive points to start the second extra session, giving the Raptors a 108-104 advantage they never lost.
"You're not going to have much energy but you have to get it done," the Raptors forward told reporters when asked about playing for 55 minutes.
Bosh finished with six points in the period while Roy was shut out.
"We made it tough for him in the end," Bosh said. "He got us early a little bit but we continued to make him shoot jump shots and made it tough for him in the lane."
Toronto thought it would win in regulation, holding a four-point lead with 22 seconds to go.
But Travis Outlaw was fouled on a 3-point attempt, which he made with 16 seconds remaining and added the free throw to tie the score at 93-93.
"They snatched a win from us a couple times but we just kept on fighting," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell told reporters.
Anthony Parker added 25 points and Jose Calderon had 22 points and 10 assists for the Raptors.
In New York, the New York Knicks routed the Detroit Pistons 89-65 behind Zach Randolph's 25 points. The Pistons shot a miserable 30.7 percent with leading scorer Richard Hamilton finishing with three points.
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and Kwame Brown hit a tiebreaking free throw with nine seconds left to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their sixth consecutive win, 100-99 over the Memphis Grizzlies. Lakers center Andrew Bynum sprained his left knee and left the game in the third quarter. X-rays were negative but more tests will be done on Monday, the Lakers said.
In Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 of his 37 points in the first half as the Atlanta Hawks ended a 12-game losing streak to the Chicago Bulls with a 105-84 home win.
In Houston, Chris Paul had 19 points and 11 assists to rally the New Orleans Hornets to an 87-82 road victory over the Houston Rockets. Paul had the game's final six points as the Hornets overcame Houston's 83-82 lead in the closing 29 seconds. David West led the Hornets with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Yao Ming had 30 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots for Houston.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/15/2008 page24)
