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TORONTO — The ball flew high and settled softly through the mesh and Chris Bosh jogged back on defence while sheepishly making the sign for a three-point basket — a circle with his thumb and forefinger and his last three fingers spread wide — popularized by Toronto Raptors teammate Jose Calderon.
It was just Bosh's third three-pointer of the season, but the basket was the ocean and the Raptors' all-star was skipping stones last night during the Raptors 127-110 win over the visiting Orlando Magic in front of the 21st sellout of the season at the Air Canada Centre.
His early third-quarter triple was his 10th consecutive basket without a miss, a streak that stretched back to the opening minutes of the first quarter. He had 35 points by the end of the third, at which point the Raptors were leading 102-82, putting the game essentially out of reach.
"There's not one thing they did that we could guard," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Chris Bosh, we could not guard. We did not have anyone that could guard him."
Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh goes to the net against Orlando Magic forwards Dwight Howard, left, and Rashard Lewis during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Toronto on Wednesday. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
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Van Gundy's frustration was music to Bosh's ears as he readies himself to put his team on his back for the long march to the playoffs, just 30 games away.
"I want to hear that every day from every coach," he said. "We just have to continue to play off each other. With Jose, he's going to move the ball, put the ball in the right spots and if you sag off him he's going to make shots."
The Magic cut the lead to 10 with just more than four minutes left in what was a battle between Bosh and Dwight Howard, two of the best young big men in the NBA. But sure enough, Calderon stepped up with two three-pointers of his own on the next two possessions and then found Jamario Moon for a skyscraping alley-oop to keep Orlando at bay.
Howard played as advertised. The recently crowned slam-dunk champion scored at least 16 of his 37 points on dunks. He got most of those by bullying his way to 10 offensive rebounds, despite the Raptors' best efforts to keep the NBA's leading rebounder off the glass.
"The only way to do that is lock him in his hotel room," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said.
But Bosh drew on every part of his considerable offensive repertoire on his way to another big night.
"I relish it," Bosh said when asked about matching up with Howard, a drama that should unfold over many seasons, given that the Orlando star is 22 and Bosh 23. "[But] I was just trying to make plays and be productive."
The win improved the Raptors' record to 29-23, a season-best six games over .500, though the Raptors remain No.4 in the conference and the Magic No.3.
Bosh's career best is 42 points, a mark he achieved on Dec. 22 against the Phoenix Suns. It was the fourth 40-point game of the season for Bosh, tying a Raptors record established by Vince Carter in 2001-02. The 127-point output was the Raptors' season best.
With Bosh leading the way and joined by Calderon, who made eight of 10 shots, Toronto shot 58.8 per cent from the floor and made 22 of 25 from the free-throw line.
Howard led six Magic players in double figures. Orlando shot 45.2 per cent from the floor and grabbed 40 rebounds to Toronto's 34.
The Raptors led 64-50 at halftime of their first game in more than a week. No one seemed more tuned in than Bosh, who said he used the down time to practise his shots and do some "housecleaning" on his game.
Matched up against Howard, who has ridden his Superman-inspired win last weekend at the all-star game dunk contest to a sudden burst of fame, Bosh seemed intent of proving basketball is about more than slams.
Bosh had Howard on a string with a mix of jumpers from the elbows and slick dribble drives at the basket.
The question was what the Raptors were going to do against the outrageously athletic Howard at the other end.
"Get the ball out of his hands," Mitchell said, summarizing his simple and succinct game plan for dealing Superman some kryptonite.
Easier said than done, as Howard's best offensive weapon was simply heading to the rim and dunking his teammates' misses.
