Toronto Raptors Tickets - Raptors Beat Hornets 98-92

Chris Bosh scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds

, Andrea Bargnani added 13 points and had 11 boards, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the New Orleans Hornets 98-92. Get Toronto Raptors tickets and see Bosh tear up the court. Jarrett Jack contributed with 15 points, while Hedo Turkoglu recorded 14 for the Raptors, who held the Hornets to 39 percent shooting. Jack and Turkoglu both had seven assists, and Amir Johnson added a season-high 12 rebounds.

David West registered 21 points and had 12 rebounds for New Orleans, while Chris Paul finished the game with 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. The Hornets lost for the 11th time in 13 road games. After the game, Paul said, "This was a winnable game for us. We just didn't come out with any type of intensity. Same story, different night. We didn't defend, all that same stuff just keeps on happening." Paul made just 13 shots and reassured the press his poor performance had nothing to do with a recurrence of a left ankle injury that kept him on the sideline for eight games earlier this season.

Toronto guard Jose Calderon missed the game because of a sore left hip, so the Raptors used Jack and Marcus Bank to keep Paul bottled up. Toronto coach Jay Triano praised Banks for his performance. The coach said Banks played well defensively. Triano noted that "(Paul) tried to post him up a couple of times in the third and Marcus was very strong and did a good job holding his ground."

The Hornets led 41-38 in the first half, but Toronto closed the second quarter on a 7-2 run and took a 51-47 lead at the break. The Raptors trailed 67-66 late in the third quarter when Sonny Weems fed DeMar DeRozan for a breakaway alley-opp dunk. That play ignited a 10-2 run that gave Toronto a seven point lead going into the final quarter. The Raptors had a 92-85 lead with 2:16 remaining before New Orleans' Emeka Okafor made a dunk and a free throw and West knocked down two free throws to cut the deficit 92-90 with 1:20 left of the game.

It was a two point game with 47 seconds left on the clock. After Bargnani missed a 3-pointer, Bosh fought off West for the rebound, and then made a basket to extend Toronto's lead to 96-92. After Paul turned the ball over, Weems sunk one of two at the foul line. The Hornets' Devin Brown missed a jumper and Johnson was fouled as he grabbed the rebound, making one of two from the charity stripe. New Orleans missed another 3-pointer and Jack snatched the rebound, allowing the Raptors to run out the clock.

The Hornets had plenty of chances to win the game in the waning minutes. West admitted that the Hornets "had a couple of shots right there at point blank that we needed." New Orleans coach Jeff Bower acknowledged, "It was a difficult afternoon for us offensively. Toronto made us work for every shot we got. They played a strong defensive game."

by: Brent Warnken

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