Raptors Win! Raptors Win!

[charlio lemieux]

I bet this doesn't get used much.:D :wicked: Here it goes, our second win of the season against the mighty Hawks. Infact with our win tonight we tie the Hawks in wins at 2.
ATLANTA (AP) - Charlie Villanueva is just a rookie, but even he knew a road game at Atlanta was too good an opportunity to waste.



Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson (2) passes around Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh (4) during the second quarter Friday, in Atlanta. (AP/John Bazemore)
Villanueva scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds left, as Toronto ended a six-game losing streak with a 102-101 win over Atlanta Friday night in the matchup of the two worst records in the league.
The teams brought a combined 3-27 record for a .100 winning percentage to the game - the worst percentage in NBA history for opponents that have played at least 30 games combined, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

All Villanueva knew was this was an opportunity for the Raptors to end their 0-7 road drought.

"This was a game we had to win," Villanueva said. "They were struggling. We were struggling. We hadn't won on the road yet, and this was our best chance."

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 23 points. Villanueva added 10 rebounds.

The Raptors led most of the game, but there were three ties in the final three minutes.

Joe Johnson set a career-high with 34 points, but it wasn't enough to keep Atlanta (2-13) from its fourth straight loss.

A tip-in by Al Harrington, who had 24 points, with 3:26 left capped a 10-0 run that gave the Hawks a 90-89 lead - their first advantage since 2-1.

A three-point play by Bosh gave the Raptors a 96-93 lead, but Johnson's third three-pointer of the period tied the game at 96-96 with 1:35 left.

The Raptors were called for a shot-clock violation with 1:10 left, and Johnson's baseline jumper gave the Hawks a 98-96 lead. Bosh scored on a short jumper over Zaza Pachulia with 42 seconds left for a 98-98 tie.

Following a miss by Harrington, Toronto called a timeout with 17.7 seconds left.

Jose Calderon passed to an open Villanueva as the rookie drove the lane past Harrington for the go-ahead layup with 2.5 seconds left.

"I went to set the screen and two guys were on Jose," Villanueva said. "I was wide open. I was a little surprised. I'm glad to get it."

The Hawks' hopes to pull even ended when the officials ruled Johnson stepped out of bounds after receiving a pass.

"The ref said it was, so I guess it was," Johnson said.

"We're a lot better than that team, especially at home. We got down too early. Defensively, we didn't have enough down the stretch."

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said the blown defensive coverage on Villanueva spoiled an otherwise strong effort.

"This kid is one of the worst free-throw shooters, and we let him lay the ball up," Woodson said. "If he's at the rim, you have to foul him and take your chances at the line, and we didn't do that."

As if encouraged by the knowledge they were playing the Hawks, the Raptors said they remained calm in the final minutes instead of playing tight, as they have in similar situations.

"We had no choice but to be loose," said Jalen Rose, who had 15 points. "Hopefully we can find a way to build on it."

After Villanueva's go-ahead basket, Morris Peterson added two free throws, giving him 15 points.

Salim Stoudamire hit a three-pointer for the Hawks at the final buzzer.

The Raptors had six players score in double figures. Mike James had 13 points and seven assists. Calderon had 10 points and six assists.

In losing seven straight road games, Toronto allowed 105.3 points per game, but the struggling Hawks scored only 78 points per game in their last three losses.

The Hawks' offensive struggles continued as they trailed 54-45 at halftime.

A three-pointer by Peterson to open the second half gave Toronto a 57-45 lead, but the Hawks finally caught fire with a 14-2 run, capped by a Josh Smith jumper, to pull even at 59-59 midway through the period.

Rose then hit two three-pointers in the final 4:05 of the third period as the Raptors regained control with a 16-6 run for a 77-67 lead.

Notes: Toronto was the last NBA team to win a road game. ... The Hawks assigned little-used guard Donta Smith to the Arkansas RimRockers of the NBA Development League. Smith was a second-round pick in 2004 who was caught in a logjam of players at shooting guard. Smith did not play in the last eight games. ... Hawks G Royal Ivey got cut in his mouth late in the first half but was able to return in the second half.


Beat them by a whole point too.
2 down, and 14 more to tie our worst.
Right now the Rptors are 2-15. How many wins will the raptors get this season?

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

I think the team will end up with about 17 or 18 wins. They've been playing bad, but there is some talent there. I think they'll be half decent in the second half, as some of their young talent starts to blossom.

[J.R.]

Less than 10.

Seeing single digits in the win column in April would be so cool.

[charlio lemieux]

Holy Crap! They did it again! :eyebug: :eyebug: :eyebug:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Chris Bosh scored a season-high 29 points and Morris Peterson added 24 to lead the Toronto Raptors to their third win of the season and second road victory in two nights, 95-82 over New Jersey on Saturday.

Playing without second-leading scorer Mike James, sidelined because of lower back soreness, Toronto improved to 3-15 and shed the dubious distinction of having the NBA's worst record. Atlanta, which lost to the Raptors on Friday night, is 2-13.

Jason Kidd led the Nets (7-9) with 17 points, and Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson had 15 apiece. Carter left the game midway through the third quarter after injuring his ankle, but returned later in the period and finished the game.

The Raptors led by 10 points in the third quarter and had a 71-64 advantage entering the final period. New Jersey rallied to tie it at 80 with 4:11 left on a three-point play by Jefferson, who was fouled on a fast break after receiving a behind-the-back pass from Kidd.

Toronto answered with a drive by Jose Calderon and a three-pointer by Peterson to make it 85-80 with 3:23 left. Bosh made one of two free throws and rebounded a miss by Kidd, then tapped in Peterson's miss with 1:19 remaining to make it 88-80.





Toronto used an 11-2 run, sparked by three consecutive baskets by Charlie Villanueva, to take a 71-61 lead late in the third quarter. Carter missed about 4? minutes during the run after injuring his ankle, but returned to the game with 3:22 left in the quarter with the ankle taped.

The Raptors, who came into the game shooting 44 percent from the field, shot 56 per cent in the first half (19-for-34). They cooled off in the second half, shooting 10-for-33 to finish at 43 per cent (29-of-67).

Notes: The Nets failed in their second attempt to reach 1,000 victories in franchise history. The Nets will be the last of the four remaining ABA teams to reach the mark, after Denver, Indiana and San Antonio ... Toronto extended its string of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 549, the longest in the NBA. The Nets' streak is at one game after they were 0-for-7 against Detroit on Wednesday night ... Kidd had six assists to move within three of tying Maurice Cheeks for eighth place on the NBA's career list. Cheeks has 7,392 and Kidd has 7,389 ... Peterson played in his 296th consecutive game, the longest current streak in the league.

On a roll. Somebody call Mayor Miller to get that parade permit.:D :laughing:

[wildboy26]

They are really on a roll now. :boogie:

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

The surging Raps just lost a heartbreaker to the Nets. Caledron missed a FT that would've put the Raps up by 3, with only 7 seconds remaining. Kidd gets the ball and charges down the floor, he dishes it off to Carter and he nails a 3 from well beyond the line. Vinsanity had 42 points on the afternoon (is it safe to say he's an elite player again?).

What's more amazing though is the fact the Raps are actually within 3 games of a playoff spot. Which just shows what a joke the Eastern Conference is, because a team that is 7 or 8 games below .500 will make the playoffs this year.

[charlio lemieux]

They won again. Wow. Saw Bosh on OTR. What a nice kid. He is talking about making the playoffs. Good thing we're in the East.

Raps get back on track


The Raptors were down 12 to an under-manned Bobcats' squad before the franchise turned things in the third quarter.

TORONTO (CP) -- One could say the Raptors played down to the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. But then as coach Sam Mitchell pointed out, that would be disrespecting Charlotte.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors did just enough to win Wednesday, beating the injury-riddled Charlotte Bobcats 95-86.

"We have 12 wins, how are we going to play down to anyone's level?" said Mitchell. "I would look like a knucklehead for standing here and saying that. This is sports, and in sports, no-one is supposed to win. You have to give the effort and execution and go out and do things necessary to win."

On paper at least, it should have been a relatively easy win for Toronto. The Bobcats were missing several players, including 2005 rookie of the year Emeka Okafor, and coming off a gruelling win in double-overtime the previous night against Houston.

Instead, it was one of Toronto's uglier games of the season, and it took the better part of the night for the Raptors to wake up. Slipping back into old habits, they tossed up jump shots and played token defence for most of the game, and trailed by 12 points at halftime.

"He had his choice words," Bosh said on Mitchell's halftime speech. "He just told us we can't keep coming out flat, they seem like they want the ball game more than we do. So we had to come out in the second half with intensity."

"It's not important about what I said or how I said it, our guys came out and played better, and did what we needed to do to win the game," Mitchell said.

It wasn't until Bosh connected on an alley-oop dunk from James midway through the third quarter that the crowd of 14,098 at the Air Canada Centre had something to cheer about.

A tie game heading into the fourth, the Raptors finally took control with two minutes left when Peterson caught a rebound while laying on his back, then made a three-pointer the next time down the court. James then stole the ball from Raymond Felton and finished with a layup for a 93-85 Toronto lead with just under a minute to play.

"Sometimes we're forcing it enough to win games, but we don't win them the way we're supposed to. That's the difference," said Bosh. "We could have played harder for the whole game."

Mike James added 24 points while Morris Peterson had 18 points and a team-high 11 boards for Toronto (12-24).

Jumaine Jones topped the Bobcats (11-24) with 17 points while Primoz Brezec added 16.

Okafor didn't make the trip after reinjuring his ankle against Houston. The Bobcats were also without rookie Sean May (knee injury), and Kareem Rush (sprained finger), and Brevin Knight left the game midway through the second quarter with back spasms.

"It's really tough," Jones said on the injuries. "We have been playing short-handed for a while. We have still been able to come up with a couple of victories, so that's no excuse. I felt like we went out and gave the effort we have been giving without those guys, we just didn't make the plays down the stretch."

The Raptors shot 46 per cent, compared to 41 per cent for Charlotte, and outscored the Bobcats 30-28 in the paint. Charlotte had a 37-36 rebounding edge.

The Raptors raced out to an early nine-point lead and looked en route to an easy victory. But the Bobcats finished the first quarter on a 24-8 run to lead 27-20.

The Raptors cut Charlotte's advantage to two points with 3:36 left in the second but didn't score again before halftime as the Bobcats led 45-33 at the break.

Toronto rallied in the third, outscoring Charlotte 30-18 and taking a one-point lead on a James layup with four seconds left. A free throw from Peterson and basket by Felton at the buzzer made it a 63-63 game heading into the fourth.

Notes: Former Raptor Dell Curry is the Bobcats' director of player programs. . . The Raptors host the New York Knicks on Sunday before heading out on a five-game western road swing which begins Tuesday at Utah.

[wildboy26]

Bosh is my favorite player on Toronto. He is a great talent, they should do everything possable to hold onto him. Villaneuva is doing better than some of the critics predicted. They said alot of talent, but lazy, but he seems to be fairly mature so far, although he still has some brain cramps, he sure puts up the points and is exciting to watch.