Toronto Raptors vs Houston Rockets Dec.9/07

The game was just 14 seconds old when Chris Bosh took flight Sunday to swat away a shot by Houston guard Steve Francis. Bosh made his presence felt early in his first appearance in six games, and went on to finish with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Toronto to a 93-80 win over the Rockets _ a reminder of how much the Raptors missed their all-star forward. ``It feels good,'' said Bosh, who played 41 minutes after missing five games with a strained groin. ``I wanted to come back when the time was right and I felt the time was right today. It was a big game, a game at home most importantly, and the past two days have been pretty good, my workouts.'' Kris Humphries added 16 points and nine boards for Toronto (11-10), while Carlos Delfino finished with 12 points, Anthony Parker had 11 and Jason Kapono finished with 10. Former Raptor Tracy McGrady topped the Rockets (11-10) with 23 points, while Yao Ming added 15. The Raptors' first-half shooting wasn't pretty Sunday, as they trailed by as many as 14 points and looked to be headed for their third consecutive loss. But Toronto tightened up on the defensive end, and then poured it on in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets 28-11 in the frame and taking a 62-56 lead into the fourth. ``We just weren't knocking down shots, but the thing I love about this team is we stay with it. We continue to try, playing defence and keep taking those shots,'' said Bosh. ``We just have to continue to pat each other on the back when we miss a shot because if it's open, you miss it, so what? Let's play defence.'' Humphries led the way with 10 points in the final quarter in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre, his basket with 4:29 left giving Toronto an 86-69 lead, their biggest of the game. On the previous play, Steve Francis was slapped with a flagrant foul after tackling Delfino in midair on a layup. The guard tried to cushion the blow for Delfino as the two players crashed to the court. The Rockets tried to rally in the final couple of minutes, but Bosh blocked a McGrady shot with 1:54 left, then scored on a turnaround jumper 30 seconds later to put the Raptors up by 14 and they held on to win, a decent result against the Texas team that had won five of its previous seven outings before arriving in Toronto. ``We came out (in the second half) and it was just a fight,'' Humphries said. ``We knew we had to come back and play the way we can play.'' Bosh missed five games with a strained groin, and his return was big for the Raptors, who went 2-3 without their all-star forward, the team leader in scoring and rebounding. ``Just his presence when he catches the ball and his no-look fake,'' said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. ``It took (Bosh) awhile to figure it out, but once he got into the game, he was a big part of their run,'' said Houston's Shane Battier. The 6-10 forward would finish with four blocks and two steals. And while he looked rusty on the offensive end in the first half with just one field goal, he had a better second half and finished shooting 7-for-17. ``We feed off (Bosh's) energy and just him coming in, being aggressive, giving us that many minutes after having not played, it's great,'' Humphries said. The Raptors were still without sophomore forward Andrea Bargnani, who missed his fourth game in a row Sunday with a hyperextended knee. Despite their woeful shooting in the first quarter Sunday, they finished the afternoon shooting 42 per cent to Houston's 40 per cent. Toronto also outrebounded Houston 48-35. The Raptors did a decent job of containing Yao and McGrady, with Delfino and Anthony Parker pestering McGrady all game long. ``Carlos has been doing an excellent job on defence, he's a big body, he's bigger than he looks and he can really move his feet,'' Bosh said. The Raptors came out firing blanks Sunday, making just one of their first 10 field goals and quickly digging themselves a 16-2 deficit. Toronto finished the first quarter on a 14-6 run to cut Houston's advantage to 22-16 heading into the second. The Rockets opened the second quarter with a 12-6 run, a running jump shot from former Raptor Mike James giving Houston a 34-22 lead. The Rockets were up 45-34 at the break. A McGrady jump shot gave Houston a 12-point lead early in the third quarter, but Toronto rallied from that point, leading 62-56 with a quarter left to play. NOTES: The Raptors are at Atlanta to face the Hawks on Tuesday then return home to host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. . . . Houston guard and former Raptor Rafer Alston missed his first game this season with a strained groin. . . . Retired NHL star Darryl Sittler was at the game.

Channel: Sports
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: monuow

Length: 08:48
Rating: 3.81
Views: 13123

Tags: Dec.9/07  Houston  Raptors  Rockets  Toronto  vs  

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