Chris Bosh says it's way too early to consider this a corner turned for the Raptors. Ask him perhaps a few games from now.
With Anthony Parker leading the way with a season-high 26 points, the undermanned Dinos recorded their second straight National Basketball Association victory over a formidable foe, beating the Orlando Magic 108-102 yesterday. Toronto 108, Orlando 102
Bosh needs a few more wins before he'll breathe any easier.
"I'm greedy," said Bosh, when asked if the team's turned a corner. "We've been at two wins in a row, we've been at three wins in a row, we have to build on something and make sure we stay consistent, and I think maybe a couple of days from now I'll be able to answer that question."
Bosh finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani had 18 points. Roko Ukic had 12, while Will Solomon pitched in with 11 for the 14-20 Dinos.
Dwight Howard tied his career high of 39 points to top 26-8 Orlando, while Rashard Lewis added 20 and Jameer Nelson finished with 15.
Coming off a resounding victory last Friday over the Houston Rockets that snapped a four-game losing streak at the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors led by as many as 16 points in the first half yesterday, and looked poised to put together the beginning of a winning streak.
But with Howard having his way inside and Lewis and Nelson knocking down threes, the Magic battled back to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth quarter.
Neither team led by more than three points through much of a hard fought fourth-quarter battle. The Raptors led with just over a minute to play in front of 19,322 fans. Bosh grabbed a huge rebound on a miss by Hedo Turkoglu, and Ukic sprinted downcourt driving left past Nelson and scoring on an off-balanced running jumper that gave the Raptors a three-point lead with 39 seconds to go.
"If I have one special shot, for sure that's it, going left and trying to throw a floater," Ukic said.
