Toronto Raptors vs Atlanta Hawks Nov.29/08

Late in the fourth quarter Friday and with the game's outcome still in doubt, a fired-up Chris Bosh was fouled on a basket, letting out a loud roar and flexing his arms as he walked up the court.

The Toronto Raptors captain may have been late in arriving Friday, but he certainly let his presence be known.

Bosh arrived just 45 minutes before tipoff Friday after being stuck in the elevator of his condo for 50 minutes, but he shrugged off any pre-game rust as the game wore on, scoring 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Raptors to a 93-88 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

``That kind of threw me off. . . just the little routine I always do,'' Bosh said afterward. ``Usually I get here, get my muscles warmed up, go out there and get some shots before the pre-game speech, but I didn't have time for any of that. Just got here and just got straight to the point.''

Jason Kapono added 16 points for the Raptors (8-7), who were playing their second straight game without starting centre Jermaine O'Neal (ankle). Joey Graham added 11 points, while Jamario Moon finished with 10.

Mike Bibby had 24 points to top the Hawks (9-6), while Joe Johnson finished with 17.

Bosh, who's enjoying a career season in the NBA, nearly had a triple-double, adding seven assists despite his pre-game misadventures.

Bosh was stuck on the 28th floor of his building, and tried unsuccessfully to pry the door open, spending almost the next hour on the elevator with two strangers.

``I was just heading to the game and the elevator stopped and I sat and reflected on life, and just chilled,'' Bosh said, laughing.

Bosh had just 10 points in the first half Friday, although the Raptors still managed to assemble a 12-point lead on some strong shooting by Kapono and plenty of energy from Graham. After one of a couple of dunks by the athletic Graham, the crowd of 19,200 at the Air Canada Centre chanted his name.

``I did (hear it),'' Graham said. ``It sounded really good, they can do that any time.''

``When guys are playing well fans have short memories,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said on the Graham chant. ``Your hometown fans, they want players to do well. They want to cheer for their home team. And it's the second game in a row that he has been using his athleticism and running. He is playing with a lot of confidence and it was good for him.''

The Raptors let the lead slip away though and allowed the visitors to take over for most of the third quarter, before Toronto found another gear to take a 69-65 lead into the final 12 minutes. A three-pointer by Kapono stretched Toronto's lead to eight points with 4:28 left on the clock, but the visitors chipped away at the advantage again until Bibby's second consecutive basket made it a three-point game with 1:03 left.

Bosh grabbed a big rebound with 18 seconds to go then Kapono drained a pair of free throws to secure Toronto its second straight victory as the Raptors wrapped up their four-game home stand with two wins and two losses.

``He's playing very good, he's an all-star and he's playing at such a high level,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson said of Bosh. ``He's a tough matchup for any big in our league on both ends of the floor. He's playing fantastic.''

The Raptors bench, which hadn't fared well so far this season until Friday, outscored Atlanta 33-23.

``Those guys are starting to get comfortable, starting to find themselves,'' Bosh said. ``We need every member of this year, I want them to continue to play with confidence, and keep doing the things they've been doing.''

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Toronto
• Raptors
• vs
• Atlanta
• Hawks
• Nov.29/08

[chrome381]

bosh owned this game

[dotaman24]

no kapono highlights???

[rickmei3072]

monuow, I love playing basketball. I am simply 5'9 and I am able to dunk! I just took this training plan at 50inch vertical[dot]com - anyone can do it

[roryfitzpatric]

its so funny when cb1 gets fired up his hair bounces and such

[hotcheekosz1611]

I LOVE CHRIS BOSH

[hafiaka61]

i was at this game it was aswome

[ThaMan2131]

IM happy smitch got fired.

[CB4toJO]

LOL How many people can be stuck in an elevator and score 30 and 10?

[davenrai]

good game

[TheRealBeeQue]

first view! RAPTORS WIN RAPTORS WIN RAPTORS WIN!