Bosh's return a franchise high

MICHAEL GRANGE

Canadian Press

March 19, 2008 at 11:38 PM EST

TORONTO — If the Toronto Raptors couldn't win last night's game against the Miami Heat — with or without Chris Bosh — they and their fans would really have had to worry.

But Bosh made his return after missing 10 games with a knee injury and gave his team a lift in a 96-54 win, even if it was against the lowly Heat.

The Heat may be tanking this season, but Bosh still gives his team its equilibrium. Without him, the team had plunged into a collective funk made worse by the continuing drama centring on point guard T.J. Ford's apparent frustration playing backup point guard.

With Bosh back, it was simple again: pitch to him for a quality shot or a ready pass out of a double team that would get spun into an open jumper another pass away.

"Just seeing Chris walk on the court [helped]," head coach Sam Mitchell said.

The Raptors improved to 35-33 in front of a sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre, while Miami fell to an NBA-worst 12-55. The win kept No.ƒ|5 Toronto a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards and a full game up on the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings.

Bosh was hardly dominant, but he was enthusiastic, clapping hands, exhorting his teammates and greeting them as they came off the floor. Beleaguered without him, they seemed emboldened with him. Andrea Bargnani, who mustered just 8.8 points a game on 37.7-per-cent shooting on the Raptors' winless, Bosh-less trip, attacked the basket for three layups and a dunk in the game's opening quarter, this while wearing a mask to protect his nose, bruised by accidental elbow from teammate Jamario Moon in Denver.

"Andrea, he played well," Mitchell said. "I was asking, 'Who was that masked man?' He just seemed to have more confidence in the things he did, his shoulders were up, his head was up."

It helped, considerably, that the Raptors were playing host to the Heat, who were playing with just seven healthy bodies and maybe not even that many interested ones.

It was a record-setting bad game. Among the records: Toronto set a franchise mark for fewest points allowed in holding Miami to 54, the third lowest total for any team since 1954-55; the 42-point margin of victory set a Raptors record; and Miami shot a franchise-worst 25.6 per cent from the field.

The offence lifted the defence, the Heat quit halfway through the first quarter and the Raptors can now look forward instead of back.

"You have to start somewhere," Mitchell said.

Bosh was rusty, shooting just 2-for-10 from the floor, but he was there for eight points and eight rebounds despite heavy legs.

Most important, his right knee felt fine. "How the rest of my body is feeling, that's a different question," said Bosh, who played just 23 minutes. "I just need to get back in shape. Everything is 100 per cent or close to it, and I'm just trying to build on it."

Bargnani had 14 points, tying Anthony Parker for the team lead, while Moon set a career mark with 14 rebounds. The Raptors shot 54.2 per cent from the floor and outrebounded Miami 49-34.

Going into the game, the question was how deep a funk the Raptors were in having lost five games in a row and eight of 10.

The competition on the West Coast was not to be trifled with, and the Raptors aren't the same team without Bosh.

And coming home after an extended trip west has its own set of perils.

"A lot of times, these games are tough to play mentally," Mitchell said. "You're waking up at all times of the night, you're body clock is off, but we played well, we played with energy."

It was clear the plan was to make last night's game about the Raptors' recovery rather than an easy win over a listless opponent. Bosh scored on a jump hook on his first touch and a familiar baseline turnaround a moment later.

Can he heal all wounds in one fell swoop? It might be a bit much to ask, but Bosh was up for the challenge.

"I'm trying to bring intensity and passion to the game for us," he said. "I know sometimes it's hard when we're missing key guys to find ways to win games.

"I just want to bring concentration on the defensive end. I know on the offensive end we're going to get shots."

Miami was there for the taking and Toronto was happy to take advantage.

"Today, we were more hungry for a win because we'd lost five in a row," Bosh said. "It was easy to come out focused and play hard.

"Our backs are against the wall right now. We have some teams in our rearview mirror and the last 15 games are extremely important."

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