It was just Bosh's third three-pointer of the season, but the basket was the ocean and the Raptors' all-star was skipping stones last night during the his team's 127-110 win over the visiting Orlando Magic.
His early third-quarter triple was his 10th consecutive basket without a miss, a streak that stretched back to the opening minutes of the first quarter. He had 35 of his 40 points by the end of the third quarter, at which point the Raptors were leading 102-82, putting the game essentially out of reach.
The Magic cut the lead to 10 with just more than four minutes left in what was a battle between Bosh and Dwight Howard, two of the best young big men in the NBA, but Calderon stepped up with two three-pointers own on the next two possessions and found Jamario Moon for a skyscraping alley-oop to keep Orlando at bay.
Howard played as advertised: The recently crowned slam-dunk champion scored 16 of his 37 points on dunks, adding 15 rebounds for good measure, but Bosh had just a little more, drawing on every part of his considerable offensive repertoire on his way to another big night.
The Bosh-engineered win improved the Raptors' record to 29-23, a season-best six games over .500. It also took a bite out of Orlando 's four-game lead over Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings, though the Raptors remain No. 4 in the conference and the Magic No. 3. It was the most points the Raptors have scored this season.
Bosh's career best is 42 points, a mark he achieved on Dec. 22 against the Phoenix Suns.
With Bosh leading the way, Toronto shot 58.8 per cent from the floor and 22 of 25 from the line. Calderon had 19 points and 13 assists for Toronto , while Moon has 17 points and 12 rebounds. Howard led six Magic players in double figures. Orlando shot 45.2 per cent from the floor and grabbed 40 rebounds to Toronto 's 33.
The Raptors could do almost no wrong in their first two quarters after the all-star game break and their first game in more than a week. They took a 64-50 lead into the halftime.
No one seemed more tuned in than Bosh, who must have caught up on his rest in New Orleans or eaten his vitamins since coming back.
Matched against Howard, the Magic centre who has ridden his Superman-inspired win at the dunk contest to a sudden burst of fame, Bosh seemed to be intent of proving basketball is about more than dunking.
Bosh had Howard on a string with a mix of jumpers from the elbows and slick dribble drives at the basket. Bosh hit on 10 of 11 shots and all six of his free throws to score 24 in the half. He even found time to dish out three assists.
The question was what the Raptors were going to do against the outrageously athletic Howard at the other end. Howard got off to a quick start as he took passes from teammates driving to the basket for easy dunks.
Defensively, the Raptors countered by playing Rasho Nesterovic more and making it harder for the Howard and the Magic to get to the basket. Nesterovic, along with Moon in a double-team, helped force the Magic into a shot-clock violation. One possession later, Nesterovic stole an entry pass intended for the Magic centre.
"Get the ball out of his hands," Mitchell said, summarizing his simple and succinct game plan for dealing Superman some kryptonite.
Still, for all that, Howard was still able to shake free for 14 first-half points on just nine shots.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Nesterovic simply kept cutting the basket, looking for the ball and taking advantage of Howard's defensive drowsiness as he put up six quick points. Those all came in succession at the end of the first quarter as the Raptors opened up a 31-34 lead heading into the second.
Bosh scored 12 of his points in the first quarter and added 12 more in the second quarter. Carlos Delfino chipped in with 11 off the bench and Toronto pushed its lead to 14 points before halftime.
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