32
TORONTO — Chris Bosh said it himself: He's a nice guy. But that doesn't mean the Toronto Raptors' captain and all-star isn't losing patience with his teammates' passivity.
The Raptors lost for the 11th time in 14 games, 109-100 to the Denver Nuggets at the Air Canada Centre Sunday afternoon.
"The thing that bothers me is at the end of games we're too hesitant," said Bosh, who finished one assist shy of his first career triple-double, counting 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine helpers. "If I give up the ball, guys just have to go ahead and rely on their talent. We hesitate too much and we think too much. We just have to play basketball down the stretch because we don't think about it in the first three quarters, so why worry about it in the fourth?"
The Nuggets certainly didn't seem worried in the game's biggest moments. And the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to rise to the occasion last Friday, too, as the Raptors lost to a potential first-round playoff opponent. The flat finishes against quality opponents seemed to grate on Bosh as the Raptors head into the final 12 games of the season.
Nuggets guard Allen Iverson drives past the Raptors' Carlos Delfino in Denver's 109-100 win in Toronto on Sunday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
Related Articles
Internet Links
Denver used its star-studded lineup to maximum effect in front of the 27th sellout of the season at the Air Canada Centre.
Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony came into the game ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the NBA's scoring race and left with 36 points and 33 points for an afternoon's work. Each of them had 13 points in the fourth quarter as Denver dug out from a 35-23 first-quarter hole to outscore Toronto 38-27 in the fourth, including an 11-2 run in the final 2 minutes 31 seconds to break a 98-98 tie.
Bosh made one turnover — although Kenyon Martin of the Nuggets made a pretty nifty steal to earn it — and Anthony Parker another as he tried to force a pass to Bosh in the pivotal final moments.
The Raptors shot 50 per cent from the floor and tied Denver on the glass with 41 rebounds each. The Nuggets shot 48.1 per cent, but made 11 three-point shots to eight by the Raptors.
Toronto shot just 12 free throws in the game, making 10 of them. They were 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter, with Bosh 4-for-4. The Nuggets were 20-for-24 from the stripe and a perfect 10-for-10 in the fourth.
But Bosh seemed less frustrated with any given play than with a lack of collective will to even take key shots at times, let alone make them. Or failing that, to put the ball on the floor with the goal of drawing a foul and getting to the free-throw line.
Bosh didn't have an overwhelming case for calling out his teammates for one of the few times in his career, considering Toronto's statistics. The Raptors shot a respectable 9-for-19 in the fourth quarter — enough to overcome a five-point Denver lead with just less than nine minutes to play as the Nuggets drilled four threes to start the period. Defence might have been a bigger problem as Denver shot 61.1 per cent in the final 12 minutes, including six of 11 threes.
His concerns were more general, as he included the Raptors' effort down the stretch on Friday against Cleveland, when Toronto could manage one field goal in the final five minutes of the game.
"Just go to the basket, you know what I'm saying?" Bosh said. "That's all we have to do. It doesn't take long [to fix it]. You don't need to get upset, you don't have to be angry ... I mean, shoot, stop being passive and go get it. You have to have that mentality. The game isn't going to fall in our laps."
The Raptors saw first hand what's involved if they were paying attention to Denver's effort.
The Nuggets' win improved their record to 42-28, but Denver went into the contest 1 1/2 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final playoff seed in the Western Conference, as they flirt with becoming the first NBA team to win 50 games and miss the postseason.
Toronto dropped to 35-35, yet is tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, a game behind the Washington Wizards for the No. 5 seed.
They have a healthy five-game lead over the New Jersey Nets, who hold the final playoff spot, but limping into the playoffs wasn't in the plan.
"If we want to win, [we have to change], plain and simple," said Bosh, who shot just 6-for-16 while being roughed up by Martin. "We're in a big stretch of games right now. We can shoot jump shots and win games every now and then. But those games where we have to go get it, it's going to be a lot tougher."
