Break Out Time?
East Rutherford, NJ – The Toronto Raptors finally got a victory for interim coach Jay Triano in their last game, and Chris Bosh showed some signs that he might be starting to break out of his offensive funk.
Another game against the New Jersey Nets might be what he needs to end it altogether.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Nets –3.5 point spread favorites for Friday’s game against the Raptors. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 62% of more than 135 bets for this game have been placed on the Nets –3.5.
Bosh, who scored a career high-tying 42 points in a wild overtime loss to New Jersey last month, will look to lead the Raptors to their first road win in more than three weeks Friday against the Nets.
Toronto (9-12) had lost five in a row heading into a home game Wednesday night against Indiana. The last three defeats – two by at least 20 points – came under Triano, who replaced the fired Sam Mitchell after a 39-point loss in Denver on Dec. 2.
Triano stressed that the Raptors were getting close to breaking through, and on Wednesday they did. Jason Kapono had a season-high 25 points and Bosh added 21 points and 10 rebounds in a comfortable 101-88 win over the Pacers.
"Coach has done a great job, obviously he’s thrown into the fire, it’s a tough spot to be in, but everyone’s got to bond together, and trust and continue to work on the things he wants us to do," Kapono said. "He’s got a good head on his shoulders, he understands the game, it’s a matter of us doing what he asks us to do."
Kapono got the start Wednesday, his first of the season, because of an ankle injury that kept starting guard Anthony Parker out of the lineup. Parker, averaging 10.2 points and 2.9 rebounds this season, had started 103 consecutive games. He’s listed as day-to-day.
Aside from Kapono stepping up, Bosh (24.7 points per game) bounced back from possibly his worst offensive performance of the season. He had nine points on 4-of-11 shooting Tuesday in a 114-94 loss at Cleveland.
The best game of Bosh’s season – and perhaps his career – came last month at home against the Nets (11-9). His 42 points, though, didn’t keep New Jersey from storming back from a late deficit to force overtime and win 129-127.
Bosh wasn’t the only Raptor to put up big numbers that night. Andrea Bargnani scored a career-high 29 and Jose Calderon had 26 points and 15 assists.
The Nets got 30 points from Devin Harris and 39 from former Raptor Vince Carter, who forced the extra period with a 3-pointer and scored the winning points on a reverse dunk with 2.1 seconds left.
Carter is averaging 24.6 points against his former team.
Carter is second on the Nets with 22.3 points per game, trailing perhaps the NBA’s most surprising player. Harris is averaging 24.8 points, and has reached the 30-point mark seven times after not doing it at all in his first four seasons.
He had 32 on Wednesday against New York, but it wasn’t enough to keep New Jersey from a 121-109 loss.
"When it comes down to it, we scored the normal amount of points that we normally do to win, but we gave up 121 points,” Harris said. "Third quarter we kind of came up a little bit sluggish, but they shot the ball extremely well.”
The Nets allow 103.3 ppg, second-most in the East behind the Knicks. They’d been defending better recently, though, holding Minnesota and Philadelphia to 84 points apiece in wins late last week.
Since scoring a season-high 127 against New Jersey in November, Toronto has averaged 95.6 points in its last nine games.
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Posted: 12/12/08 1:05AM ET