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ORLANDO — One game after delivering his best postseason performance, Chris Bosh gave one of his worst. It didn't matter, the results were the same.
The team built around him, the Toronto Raptors, lost last night 102-92 to the Orlando Magic — and they also fell in their best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series 4-1. It marked the end of a confounding season that started in preseason in Italy with high hopes and ended in Orlando with a heavy dose of NBA reality: The Raptors aren't good enough.
Bosh had a strong series, but a weak finish. His signature moment last night was a fade-away fourth-quarter jumper that he finished on his bum, the ball well short. At the other end it was the Magic's young franchise player, Dwight Howard, gobbling up rebounds and dunking them home like something out of a Japanese monster movie, Bosh helpless to stop him.
Bosh needs help, as this series has proven, more than previously thought. The Raptors' other pillar — stellar point guard play — appeared shaky, too, as for the fourth time in five games the Magic's Jameer Nelson was the best quarterback on the floor. His three-pointer with three minutes remaining left the crowd at the Amway Arena roaring and the Raptors down 10, with no sign of a pulse.
Orlando Magic guard Maurice Evans goes up for a shot past Toronto Raptors forwards Andrea Bargnani and Jamario Moon Monday night. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
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The game began to slip slightly late in the first quarter. Bosh was struggling and the Raptors jumpers were not falling as regularly.
Bosh began to show some frustration after he was called for a foul tussling with Howard and earned a technical from referee Mark Davis in the process. Keyon Dooling converted the free throws as part of Orlando's 9-2 run to put the Magic up six heading into the fourth. The Raptors were trailing by two midway through the final quarter, but a three-pointer by journeyman Keith Bogans and an offensive rebound and dunk by Howard sent the Magic on their way, heading straight for the second round.
Bosh finished with 16 points on a ragged 7-of-19 shooting night. Toronto shot a reasonable 8-for-22 from the three-point line but had 37 rebounds to Orlando's 55. Howard had 21 points and 21 rebounds — his third 20-20 game of the series — while Nelson finished with 19 points.
The Raptors were leading 50-49 at the half, accomplishing their first intermediate goal: not getting blown out in the game's opening moments, a first in the series for the Raptors on the road.
Before the game, the Raptors certainly seemed aware of the gravity of their situation. But then, how couldn't they?
"We just have to approach it like there's no tomorrow, that's the reality of it," said T.J Ford, before adding, "I think I need a big one."
He was speaking the truth, although he couldn't do it alone. The one trend established through the first four games was that when Magic point guards Nelson and Dooling got the better of the point guard matchup with Ford and Jose Calderon, the Magic won.
So that was one variable. The other was exactly what kind of effort the Raptors would deliver. Team insiders will tell you that even they can't predict what is going to happen on any given night when he Raptors take the floor.
Head coach Sam Mitchell was looking only for a competitive, leave-it-on-the-floor kind of night.
"You don't want to be an easy out, you want to be a tough out," Mitchell said. "You want to be the guy who fouls off 21 pitches and gets the hit or a walk on that 22nd pitch."
Based on their opening defensive possessions it looked like the Raptors were going to swing at the first pitch, ground out weakly and not bother running to first base. Andrea Bargnani picked up two fouls, the Raptors gave up an offensive rebound and fourth-game hero Rashard Lewis drilled an open three-pointer as the Magic sprinted out to a 10-2 lead before the game was three minutes old.
But a funny thing happened. Behind in the count, they started fouling off pitches. Jamario Moon hit a pair of threes, pulled groin muscle or no, the second one tying the score at 14-14, and the Raptors kept right on going, though it was their point guards who led the way.
Calderon took over for Ford and knocked down two threes of his own, including one at the buzzer to end the quarter that put the Raptors up by five. In the second quarter, Ford backed up his talk with action, as he scored eight points in the last five minutes of the half to help the Raptors maintain the lead even on a night when Chris Bosh was held to just four first-half points.
