Toronto Raptors vs Charlotte Bobcats Dec.3/07

Even without three of their top players, the injury-riddled Toronto Raptors had no problem handling the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday.

Kris Humphries and Carlos Delfino scored 17 points apiece to top Toronto in a 98-79 win over Charlotte, sending the slumping Bobcats to their sixth straight loss.

The Raptors were missing starters Chris Bosh (groin), T.J. Ford (arm) and Andrea Bargnani (knee).

But the Raptors' depth proved their saviour once again, with six players scoring in double figures. Joey Graham had 13 points in his first start of the season. Jose Calderon had 12 points and nine assists, Anthony Parker added 11 points and Jason Kapono finished with 10.

Rookie Jamario Moon added 12 rebounds for Toronto (10-8).

Gerald Wallace scored 19 points to lead the Bobcats (6-10).

The Raptors never trailed Monday, and were up by as many as 21 points before heading into the fourth quarter with a 76-59 advantage.

The Bobcats scored the first four points of the fourth to cut Toronto's lead to 13 points. But the game was never in doubt, and the Raptors were up by 20 points with 5:11 left when Humphries finished a series of nifty passes with a dunk that brought the crowd of 17,439 to its feet.

A driving layup by Humphries with just under a minute left gave Toronto a 22-point lead en route to the team's fourth consecutive win at the Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors shot 51 per cent on the night and held the Bobcats to 33 per cent shooting. They also outrebounded the visitors 46-35.

But while the Raptors had a relatively easy time with the struggling Bobcats, they could use their injured threesome back Wednesday when they host Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns.

Bosh, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, missed his third consecutive game with a strained right groin. Ford, the starting point guard, missed his fifth game with a ``stinger'' in his arm, a nerve irritation that radiates down the arms.

Calderon has played superbly in Ford's absence and Monday was no different. On one frenzied sequence in the second quarter, the hard-working guard fell down but kept his dribble going, only to have his layup ring around the basket then fall out. But he raced downcourt, stole the ball off Okafor then finished with a driving layup.

Bargnani sat out with a hyper-extended left knee, suffered in Saturday's 101-97 loss to the Washington Wizards.

All three injured players are listed as day-to-day.

The Raptors came out strong, shooting a sizzling 55 per cent in the first quarter and taking a 22-8-point advantage on a layup by Calderon late in the frame. They led 27-16 heading into the second quarter.

The Raptors opened the second on a 13-5 run, a three-pointer by Darrick putting the home team up 40-21. Toronto held the Bobcats to 28 per cent shooting in the first half and led 54-33 at the break.

The Bobcats opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run to creep back to within 12 points, but they could get no closer. The Raptors stretched their lead to 69-49 on a three by Delfino, and were up 76-59 heading into the final quarter.

NOTES: Following Wednesday's game against the Suns, the Raptors head to Boston to face the Celtics on Friday...The Raptors won a team-record 30 games at home last season, but never more than three in a row.

Category:

Sports

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• Raptors
• vs
• Charlotte
• Bobcats
• Dec.3/07

[vinthulan]

Raps all da way!!

[chrisboshrox]

raptors are the best

[avmanu95]

raptors 4 life

[speedster1495]

the raptors totally owned. I saw this game on tv

[footgoal]

kris humphris is the fucking man i love him times 100000000000000000000000000000­000000000000000000000000000000­000000000000000000000000000000­000000000000000000000000000000­000000000000000000000000000000­0000000

[bankz1]

I was at this game

[ilkcrs]

I was at this game!

woooooooooooooooooooo

Joey Graham Dunk Was Sickkk!

[Musicalsrockmysocks]

LOL! The last one was bloody brilliant. That is why I love the Raptors!<3

[LexusFordsSA]

jamario moon = apollo33 = next dunk contest champ

[raptorzz101]

#33 = jamario moon

[bessyakabossy]

i think that game was sick and # 33 is good u saw him dunk like wow