Coming on the tail-end of an emotional 24 hours, with guard T.J. Ford sidelined with another frightening neck injury, and against a formidable opponent they hadn't beaten in four years, Wednesday's game had all the makings of an ugly night for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors thought otherwise.
With Chris Bosh leading the way with 17 points, the Raptors beat Dallas 92-76 at the Air Canada Centre, their first win against the Mavericks in eight games.
``Our guys played well, coming off a back-to-back, getting in late, going through what we went through the last 24 hours, to come out as focused as we were,'' said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell.
With Ford watching from the bench a night after his frightening crash at Atlanta, five Raptors scored in double figures. Jose Calderon finished with 12 points, while Jason Kapono and Rasho Nesterovic added 10 apiece for the Raptors (13-10).
[ ] Jason Terry topped the Mavericks (14-9) with 21 points, while Josh Howard finished with 19, and reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki added 13.
The Raptors took control of the game with a blistering second quarter, in which they outscored the Mavs 33-19 and led by as many as 19 points. Toronto took a 75-59 advantage into the fouth quarter.
Bosh called it a huge win for Toronto.
``Especially coming off of a back-to-back,'' said the all-star forward. ``Sometimes you can let your guard down, you feel a little tired, we could have just been intimidated by them just because of what happened in Dallas last time we played them.''
Dallas had rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the Raptors 105-99 back on Nov. 20, but Toronto wasn't about to let it happen again. Dallas cut Toronto's lead to 14 points on a three-pointer by Devean George with just over four minutes left in the game, but would come no closer, and the Raptors clinched their first win against the Mavs since a 77-71 victory on Nov. 6, 2003.
``They are a great home team, so they deserved to win as we weren't very good,'' said Nowitzki.
Ford received a standing ovation when he took a seat on the Raptors bench. The previous night, he had been wheeled off the court on a stretcher after he was sent crashing to the floor by Hawks rookie Al Horford.
``Seeing T.J. in the locker-room, talking to him, seeing that he's stiff, he's a little sore but he's going to be OK, and hearing him say he's going to be OK, put everybody's mind at ease,'' said Mitchell. ``T.J., talking to him this morning, he told me no way he was not going to come to the game. It was important to him to come and support his teammates.''
Ford had scored 26 points and was driving to the basket when Horford hit Ford on the head. The six-foot guard landed hard on his back, his head bouncing off the floor.
``I'm definitely feeling a lot better compared to last night,'' Ford said. ``I'm still sore and still in pain, but not as much as I was as soon as the accident happened.''
Tuesday's game had marked the first time Toronto had its three stars _ Ford, Bosh and Bargnani _ in the lineup since Nov. 20.
Now coach Sam Mitchell and the Raptors find themselves in an all-too-familiar position _ missing one of their most important players.
``I can't remember the last time we've had our whole team intact. It's been awhile,'' Mitchell said.
There's no timeline for Ford's return, although he said he's going to give himself at least a week.
Calderon has played well while logging major minutes in Ford's absence _ Ford had recently returned from missing six games with a ``stinger'' in his arm before Tuesday's injury.
Wednesday was more of the same as Calderon finished with seven assists in 32 minutes of action.
The Raptors bench had another strong night, outscoring the Mavs 43-18.
``Guys came in and played well, they earned the right to stay on the court and it just made the world of difference,'' said Mitchell.
The Raptors shot 43 per cent on the night, and held Dallas to 39 per cent. The Mavs outrebounded Torono 44-42, with Erick Dampier grabbing 11 boards for the visitors.
The Raptors led for most of the first quarter on 47 per cent shooting, but never by more than five points, and took a 21-17 lead into the second.
Toronto opened the second quarter with a 15-2 run, and Bargnani's three-point play gave the home team a 36-19 lead. The Raptors stretched their advantage to 19 points late in the quarter and took a 54-36 lead into the break.
Dallas rallied in the third, with a three-pointer by Howard cutting Toronto's lead to 68-59. But the Raptors ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, with a three by Kopono with 0.4 seconds on the clock sending Toronto into the fourth with a 75-59 lead.
NOTES: The Raptors are at Indiana on Friday, then host the Boston Celtics on Sunday before heading out on a western road swing that includes a stretch of four games in five nights.
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4:26
stevetyrellfan1 3 years ago
chuck swirsky is the most bias annoucer ever. i know hes hired by the raps but still. never seen that with chick hern back in the day
WushuDude13 3 years ago
chris bosh is my babe and i feel so soory for tj cuz if that was chris i would be running and no one would be able to stop me
papooseswifey 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
MAVS always come back against mavs. iam surprised they didn't do it this time, maybe for TJ ford or they felt sorry for RAPTORS
agentzero1 4 years ago
3:10
Ankle breaking with a pass.
doraemonrox 4 years ago
lol naw, 4 in a row
lankanprince1994 4 years ago 2
yea man
miguela22 4 years ago
wtf the mavs played like shit man damn
iLLskiLLz005 4 years ago
so whene will TJ play again
husyrs 4 years ago
Hump and Delfino. What a combo.
joshmejia 4 years ago