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TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors finished off this one. They asserted themselves in the third quarter, expanding a two-point halftime lead to 13 points and maintained the advantage through the rest of the game.
The 109-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers before an announced crowd of 18,067 at the Air Canada Centre last night ended a run of three consecutive home losses.
At the morning shootout yesterday, the Raptors had talked about how they had to finish off quarters and then games after they had taken the lead.
In the game, they were as good as their talk in the morning, shooting 55 per cent from the floor and 87.5 per cent from the free-throw line.
the Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic drives to the net past Philadelphia 76ers' Calvin Booth. (Adrian Wyld/CP)
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- Toronto Raptors
- Chris Bosh
- Jose Calderon
- Samuel Dalembert
- Carlos Delfino
- Willie Green
- Andre Miller
- Anthony Parker
- Thaddeus Young
And although the 76ers had a 41-34 rebounding advantage, the Raptors played solid defence to limit them to 43.7 per cent in shooting.
It helped make up for blowing a 20-point lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers last Sunday and losing 93-90 after LeBron James took control of the game in the fourth quarter for the visitors.
"We made a concerted effort to come out and do a better job in the third quarter," said Chris Bosh, who picked up two early fouls that limited him to 7 minutes 25 seconds in the first half. "We were trading baskets for the longest time with them and good teams just don't do that. We want to be a good team, so we just have to play with a little more energy and go get some stops."
Bosh finished with 21 points and, a rarity, one rebound. "It's okay as long as we won," Bosh said.
Anthony Parker led the Raptors with 22 points. Willie Green led the 76ers with 18 points.
There was good news on another front after the game.
Point guard T.J. Ford, who has not played since Dec. 11 after being injured in Atlanta on a foul by Al Horford of the Hawks, returned from the Cleveland clinic where he had another examination. It confirmed what other examinations had determined, and the club announced the prognosis is good for a full recovery and a return to playing. He also had been examined in New York and Los Angeles.
At a time yet to be determined, Ford will go to his home in Houston, where he will embark on a workout program. There is no timetable for his return to competition.
Ford has spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the openings of the vertebrae and has twice suffered arm stingers this season and missed the 2004-05 season with the Milwaukee Bucks because of neck surgery.
Ford's absence has meant an increased burden on Jose Calderon, and he has responded. He scored 17 points and had nine assists in nearly 41 minutes last night.
"It depends on how the guys behind him are playing," head coach Sam Mitchell said. "If they're not playing well, Jose has to play more minutes."
Mitchell said the rebounding is a concern. "The last two games we have been pounded on the offensive glass, but tonight we overcame it," Mitchell said. "We understand that it doesn't happen every night and we cannot give up 17 offensive rebounds."
The Raptors got nearly 15 minutes of playing time and seven points from Joey Graham. Mitchell said Graham played more than usual because he had done well in practice. "Practice is important to me," Mitchell said. "If you're not getting it done in practice, how can you be confident that you're going to get it done in the game? He missed some shots, but he was aggressive, he kept getting in the paint, he made some plays and gave us a lift in the first half and we needed that."
Before the game, 76ers starting centre Samuel Dalembert was honoured at centre court by Team Canada for becoming a Canadian citizen and playing last summer on the Canadian team, which finished fifth in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the world Olympic qualifier in Athens in July.
Dalembert, 26, was born in Haiti, but first played basketball competitively as a sophomore in high school in Montreal before attending Seton Hall. This is his sixth season with the 76ers. He scored eight points and had six rebounds last night.
