Devin Harris Shakes, Bakes But Doesn't Make

Raptors 107, Net 106

Devin Harris had his chance to put away the Raps but his wide open jumper clanked off the rim.

The New Jersey Nets made a run in the fourth but couldn't close it out as the Raptors won their third in a row.

This was an important game for the Toronto Raptors as the games leading to all-star break become very crucial. If the Raps have playoff hopes, they need to start piling on the W's. Last night's game against the Nets and the matchup against Milwaukee on Friday are games the Raps have to win because of the tough four game stretch after that. They face Orlando, Cleveland, the LA Lakers and New Orleans Hornets afterwards. So in order to build on any playoff hopes, the Raps had to stick it to VC & Devin Harris' Nets.

The Raps were at home.....oops I mean they were in their home white jersey in Jersey. I think the Nets like the red alternate road jerseys as they are a horrible 9-14 at home. Vince went off in the first going for 16 in the quarter. The Raps shot 52% but were still down 30-21 after the first.

The Raps started to get the three ball falling as Jason Kapono and Andrea Bargnani nailed threes. Chris Bosh started to get it going and hit the jumper bringing the Raps to within four. Oh yeah, I'm seeing a beard. Anthony Parker didn't shave, so immediately I had high expectations of exceptional play from AP. Bobby Simmons hit a three to get the Nets up eleven but AP answered back with a three. Jamario then hit a three to get within five. Then more AP, who hit another three. Chris Bosh hit the jumper and got the foul to get it to 52-50. At the half, Nets were up 54-50.

The Raptors were a little reckless with ball and had 10 turnovers in the first half. Anthony Parker had 16 points for the Raps, all thanks to the beard. Even though the Raps were down by four, they shot a lot better than the Nets: Raps 61 FG%, NJ 43 FG% but the Raps just turned it over too many times.

Chris Bosh got it started in the third by hitting the jumper. Jamario Moon played a decent game and had a nice block on Bobby Simmons which landed right in Jay Triano's hands. Raps got the lead 55-54 with another Parker three. Jose Calderon played well in third and had a nice alley oop to Jamario Moon. The Nets got it going again as Devin Harris blew by Anthony Parker and took it to Chris Bosh for the And 1. NJ got up 64-60. Jose Calderon continued his excellent play and had 10 points in the third quarter. The Raps went on a 8-0 run up 82-74 after three.

Devin Harris started the fourth with a three. Jose Calderon nailed the J to get up nine. Anthony Parker played excellent backup point guard, hooking up Joey Graham with the basket. Our boy, Beard-nani didn't play much of the fourth as the Raps went withh the small ball. Even though the Raps had a good lead throughout the second half, the Nets made a run at the end of the fourth. Bobby Simmons hit a three to get within four, Vince Carter hit a three to get within three and Devin Harris drove in for the layup to get it to one, down 107-106. Jose Calderon missed his jumper leaving it to NJ for the last possession. Devin Harris handled the ball in the closing seconds, broke Joey Graham's ankles but his open jumper didn't fall. Raps won their third game in a row.

Key Notes:
JOSE! had 17 pts & 11 assists

Anthony Parker: 21 pts, 6 assists, 7 boards and 1 stubbly beard
Raps' Bench aka Joey, Jason and Jermaine scored 33 pts
Raps shot 56% and NJ shot 46% from the field
Devin Harris/Vince Carter combined for 52 pts, 13 rebounds and 15 assists
Raptors had six players in double figures

Raps play the Bucks on Friday

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Jamari-OOOOOOOHHHH-NOO...

Hawks 87, Raps 84

Ok here's the situation:

Score: 84-85 Hawks

0:41 Chris Bosh defensive rebound

0:35 Jamario Moon misses 26-foot three point jumper

WTF.

Why oh why would Jamario Moon chuck a quick three during one of the last Raps' possessions down 1? Ugh...Raps dropped their sixth game in a row.

Triano went with the same lineup change today with AP at the point and Joey Graham at the two. As the J.O./Sean Marion trade rumors swirl, Jermaine O'Neal sat out and Jose Calderon sat today as well.

First quarter, Joey Graham started with a sick dunk. Josh Smith had a couple of nice dunks as well in the first quarter with his Hawks down 24-21. Raps were up 24-23 after one. The Raps took control in the first half, Roko was just blowing by the Hawks with layups, Bosh & Bargs also had it going as the Raps got up 11, 51-40. Raps shot 50% in the first half holding the Atlanta Hawks to 39% shooting. The Raps also outrebounded the Hawks 23-17 in the first half.

The Raps stunk it up in the second half, Joe Johnson hit a jumper in the third to get it to a 58-53 Raps lead. Then the Raps went cold going 0 for 7, while Mike Bibby cut it to one point. Raps led 64-62 after the third quarter. Toronto only scored 13 points in the third. The Raps continued to tank as they shot 9-32 throughout the second half, shooting under 30%. The Raps fell behing 76-71 until Jamario Moon hit a three to tie it at 78. The Raps started to hit shots as Chris Bosh hit a jumper to get up 2.

Then this is where it started to go sour. First, Jamario bit on a Mike Bibby pump fake that sent Bibby to the line where Bibby went 2/2 from the line to get up 85-84. With 54 seconds left, the Raps inballed the ball to Bosh who just lost it off the dribble which lead to a Hawks steal. Luckily, Mo Evans completely missed a layup giving the Raps a perfect opportunity to set up for the go-ahead basket. But as Jamario ran down the floor, he decided to go for the quick three. A quick three? Ugh. Ugly. Leo and Matt Devlin couldn't believe it along with the rest of the Raps nation. This set up Joe Johnson to nail a clutch jumper to get up three. Raps had 12 seconds to get a decent shot, but they couldn't a decent shot at all. The Raps lose another "OHHH, SO CLOSE" game again.

Key Notes:

Joe Johnson/Josh Smith/Mike Bibby all scored 20+: Johnson 28, Smith 22, Bibby 23

Bosh/Bargs each had double doubles: Bosh 22pts/14reb, Bargs 20pts/10reb

Toronto shot 34% in the second half

Anthony Parker almost had a triple double, 12 pts, 9 assists, 9 rebounds

Will Solomon was a DNP-CD

Raps have Detroit on Wednesday.

Photo credit: (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Chef Steve Nash with 18 dishes against the Raps

Suns 117, Raps 113

The good news is that the Raps next nine games include seven against the Eastern Coference. So this is a the stretch where the Raps can either make or break their season. Yesterday, Triano made some lineup changes putting Anthony Parker as the starting point guard and puttting Joey Graham as the starting shooting guard. Apparently, these guys along with Bosh, Bargs and Moon were the only ones who could get it going in the fourth of the Raps-Pacers game.

The Raps came out swinging in this one starting off with 18-6 start over the Suns as this would be a high scoring affair. Then the Terry Porter Phoenix Suns looked more like the D'Antoni Suns Sunday afternoon as J-Rich hit a three to lead the Suns to five buckets in a row to get up on the Raps 27-26. Phoenix would continue the hot streak going on a 21-9 run to get up 36-34. The Raps would shoot a hot 64% but the defense let Phoenix shoot a sweltering 72%. The hot offense continued until halftime, the Phoenix Suns led 71-67.......at halftime, yes halftime. Steve Nash was scoreless at the half but had 11 assists.

Here's a funny little clip from the first half: Steve Nash gets a Little Offended by Chris Bosh's Mouth Funk

The second half started with Chris Bosh playing Shaq one on one in the post and Bosh got just got swatted. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham continued to play well as the Raps stayed in this one, down only eight after three. In the fourth, Jamario Moon hit a three to make it a five point game and then Joey Graham nailed a jumper for a career high 20 pts. The Raps got within two, 102-100. Joey Graham nailed another jumper to make it a tie game. There was a scary moment when Bosh hit a rainbow jumper over Shaq, but when coming down, Chris Bosh landed on Shaq's big-ass shoe. It looked pretty nasty but Bosh was able to wak it off. Jamario Moon had a crazy putback slam out of nowhere to get within three, 114-111. But in the next Raps possession, Anthony Parker would throw it away, turning the ball over leading to a Nash missed wide open three. AP redeemed himself to get back within one. During the closing seconds, Nash drew Bosh in, then drove passed him for the layup to go up 116-113. In the last seconds for the Raps, it was a lot of chaos of offensive boards trying to tip it in but the shots just didnt fall. Kid Canada wins in Canada 117-113.

Key Notes:
AP & Joey Graham were huge: AP: 26/7/5, Joey Graham: 22/7/4
Amare Stoudemire 31 pts, 6 reb
Steve Nash had 9 pts and a season high 18 assists

Raps play the Hawks on MLK Day, Monday afternoon.

Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Pacers pull a "Raptor" by blowing lead but Pacers hold on to win...

Pacers 111, Raptors 104

Man, the Pacers pulled off a Raptor-esque performance by blowing their 24 point lead after the third quarter. It all started with a 10-1 run by the Raps in the first. Jermaine O'Neal made his first appearance in Indiana and got a mixed review with both boos and claps. After the first quarter, the game was tied 20-20.
In the second is where the wheels started to fall off for the Raps. The Raps fell behind 41-30 and then the Pacers started to hit the threes. Danny Granger hit a big three, Troy Murphy had an open three and then Dunleavy hit a three. The Raps defense was too slow, and their shots were just ugly as nothing was falling for the Raps. The Pacers were up 56-42 at half.

Jamario Moon started the third quarter with an airball. Toronto continued to turn the ball over and Troy Murphy hit a three to get up 81-59 on the Raps. Former Raptor, TJ Ford hit a late jumper to end off the third up 24 points.

In the fourth, Bosh started off with back to back baskets as the Raps went on a 11-0 run to start the fourth. Bargs continued to struggle shooting 4-13. Raps contined to rally as AP passed to an open Bosh for the dunk. Toronto continued to go on a 17-5 run. Then Bargs hit a three to make the game close to get within nine. Jason Kapono hit an open three and then Danny Granger who was 7-22 missed an open three. Bosh continued to go on a tear and hit two free thrown to get within three. Then Anthony Parker hit a jumper to get within 1. Even though the Raps made the 4th quarter run, the Pacers hit key free throws to put the Raps away.

Key Notes:
Toronto had 20 turnovers leading to 29 Pacer points
Danny Granger had 23 pts on 8-24 shooting
Bosh had 25 pts, 16 rebounds
Jermaine O'Neal had 2 points and 7 boards in his return

Raps are home to Phoenix on Sunday.

Photo Credit: (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

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UNBELIEVA-BULL: Rose's 17 in the 4th outshines Bargs' career night

Bulls 102, Raps 98

Bargs was large. He played so well, he even tipped in a basket for the Bulls. Andrea Bargnani had a career night but this was another heart-breaker. The Raps came out flat in the first, falling as much as 12 pts behind the Bulls. After one, the Bulls led 27-18, outrebounding the Raps 14-6.

The Raps just got killed on the offensive boards in the first half, the Bulls had 10 offensive boards versus the Raps' donut. The Raps made a run in the second that started with a huge Jamario Moon block on Kirk Hinrich as the Raps got within four. Will Solomon then hit a jumper to get within one and then he followed it with an alley oop pass to Jamario Moon to take the lead. Bargs had it going scoring 10 points in the second quarter alone. The Raps took the lead at 48-47 at halftime. Bulls outrebounded the Raps 26-11 and killed them on the offensive boards 12-1.
The third quarter had the Raps bench struggling and settling for too many jumpers. Bosh/Bargnani carried the load scoring 14 of the Raps 18 points. Roko Ukic had a late layup to get up 71-68 at the end of the third.

The Bulls started off on a 7-0 run to start the fourth. The Bulls had good ball movement passing it around until they found a high percentage shot. The Bulls were just killing the Raps in the paint. Then the Raps got back on a run again, AP hit a three to get within one. AP was clutch in the fourth as he hit another jumper to take the lead. Derrick Rose was amazing, he was just so quick and explosive, he just drove to the basket with ease. Chris Bosh had a nice cut to the basket for the dunk, as the score was 98-96 Bulls. Derrick Rose and Anthony Parker traded baskets and then the Bulls had the ball with 15 seconds left. Kirk Hinrich had a bad inbounds pass which led to a Chris Bosh steal. Toronto got the ball to Chris Bosh, down 2, but Joakim Noah stuck to him and blocked Bosh's jumper. Bulls Win, Bulls Win, Bulls Win, break out the salami and cheese that ball game was over.

Key Notes:
Andrea Bargnani had a career high 31 points and 10 rebounds
Derrick Rose had 25 points and 10 assists and scored 17 in the fourth quarter
Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds
Chris Bosh had 25 points and 4 rebounds

Raps are @ Indiana on Friday.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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WE WILL, WE WILL ROKO U...

The 26-7 Orlando Magic came into town as winners of 9 of their last 10 games. The Toronto Raptors were winners of 3 of their last 10. Normally, I would think this would be another L for the Raps but I had new outlook on this game. It's 2009 and the Raps are 1-0 for the new year. Today's starters for the Raptors looked a little different: Anthony Parker, Will Solomon and Jamario Moon were all starting with Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon sitting out due to injury. This meant more run for Will Solomon and Roko Ukic at the point guard position.

First Half Pleasure & Pain

Pleasure - The G's were Money
The Magic had an early 17-14 lead on the Raptors seven minutes into the game but the Raptors guards put an end to it. The combo of Anthony Parker and Will Solomon went 6 for 6 from the field as the Raptors went on a 20-5 run from that point. Roko Ukic came into the game in the late first quarter hitting a shot and extended the Raptor lead to 15. By the end of the first, the guards (Parker-Solomon-Ukic) were 7 of 8 from the field and the Raps led 34-22. Raps had the hot hand shooting 66% and their defense held the Orlando Magic to only 40% shooting.

Pleasure - Andrea Bargnani
I don't know where this Andrea Bargnani has been, but I like it. More confidence, more swagger...we should have seen this a long time ago. Bargs played some decent defense on Dwight Howard and he also hit a big three to get up 38-26 on the Magic.

Pain - The infamous Toronto Raptors lead blowing
Dwight Howard started to get get things going with big dunks down low and had 18 points by mid second quarter. Jameer Nelson started to hit shots and knocked the Raptors lead down to only 6. Hedo Turkoglu continued the run and hit a jumper while Jameer Nelson hit another shot to get it down to a one-possession game. The Raps were lucky enough to have Will Solomon hit a jumper in the closing minutes of the second to put the Raps back up by seven. The Raps were up 56-49 at the half and were on pace to a 100 point game...which usually leads to Raptor wins.


Second Half Pleasure & Pain

Pain - Magic Eight Ball, No...More like Magic Three Ball
The Magic wouldn't go away and stayed in it with the three ball. Rashard Lewis came into the third quarter and hit a three and then the three ball came from everywhere. Everytime the Raps would double team Dwight Howard, there were open bodies on the three point line waiting for a shot. Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Courtney Lee all hit threes and then with 40 seconds to go in the third, Dwight Howard came down with the ferocious jam to take the lead 78-77. At the end of the third, the Magic were 12 for 26 from three point land vs. the Raps 2 for 9 from three point land. The Magic finished with 15 threes in the game.

Pleasure - AP
Anthony Paker finally got it going, he had 14 points by mid third quarter. I've never seen this guy dunk so much until this game, the Magic just didn't defend him at all. He finished with 26 points going 13-15 from the field.

Pleasure - Raps actually maintaing composure
The Raps didn't seem to get rattled when the Magic came back. They kept their ground and actually played well down the stretch. Jamario had played great defense and got some key defensive boards. Andrea Bargnani was all over the place, hitting a three to get the Raps up by ten and then stole the ball and took it to the basket for a layup. And then when he got doubled, he dished it to Bosh for the dunk.

Pain - The Magic fought back
Dwight Howard had a big game (he finished with 39 points) and got it going in the 4th. Stan Van Gundy put in JJ Redick to get the offense going and he hit threes. Then Rashard Lewis hit another big three, his 6th three of the game.

Pleasure - Toronto clutch down the stretch
Bosh hit both free throws with 2:27 left to tie the game at 101. Up to the fourth quarter, the Raps were 18 for 18 from the free throw line. Bosh was key at the end of the fourth, grabbing key rebounds and hit a crazy almost And-1 circus shot (thanks to hoopdoctors.com)

Pleasure - We Will, We Will Roko U
Roko Ukic was important at the end and it was actually the first time fans got to see Roko in a decisive portion of a Raps game. Roko hit a key jumper in the closing minutes to seal the win as the Raps won 108-102.

For a Magic perspective, check out thirdquartercollapse.com The Raps are at Milwaukee tomorrow night.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Happy Ne-new Year! Nene scores 21 in Nuggs New Years Eve win

Well at least it wasn't a 39 point loss and no head coach was fired. The Raps were without Jason Kapono (thigh injury) and Jermaine O'Neal (knee injury) in the starting lineup last night. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker filled the gaps for the Raps who were playing their first home game after their 6-game Western road trip. Denver head coach, George Karl was going for his 900th career coaching win.

The tough part about coming home for the Raps was having to go against the Chauncey Billups and the Denver Nuggets shorthanded. Nene made his return to the Nuggets after missing their last game due to injury and came out strong. The Raps played a good first half against Nene's Nuggets and were only down three at halftime. In the third quarter, Jose Calderon hit a three to go up on the Nuggets by one and then hit another three later in the quarter to get up three. The third quarter remained tight until Denver made a push to go up by eight at the end of the third. Andrea Bargnani who has been up and down this season, performed well filling in for J.O at centre. He had 11 points in the first half and continued to hit shots in the second half. In the fourth quarter, Anthony Parker found Joey Graham for the open layup to get within two with only 4 minutes left. And then Chauncey Billups, Mr. Big Shot hit a big shot three to get up by six on the Raps. In the final seconds, Anthony Parker hit a three to get within four but the Raps couldn't get any closer as the Nuggets won 114-107.

Key Notes
Denver had 7 players in double figures
All of the Raptors starters were in double figures
Andrea Bargnani broke out with 26 pts, 6 boards and 5 blocks
Bosh had 24 pts and 11 boards
Nene led the Nuggets with 21 points and 7 rebounds

The Raps have another tough home matchup as they face the Houston Rockets Friday night.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Raps Can't Get No Satisfaction, Giving Up 30 to Stephen Jackson

The Raps faced off against the 9-23 Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were losers of three of their last four but their lone win came against an Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Boston Celtics. Raps came off a disappointing loss against the Portland Blazers as they finished their six game Western road trip last night against Golden State.

As usual, the Raptors played a good first quarter. Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon both had 9 points a piece as the Raps led 29-28 after one. Golden State who isn't known for their defense let the Raps get the shots that they wanted. Who is Marco Belinelli? If you haven't heard of him before, you probably know him now. He's an Italian product who apparently wants to be the best basketball player in the world. He has a lot of skill, as he displayed last night. He can shoot and can also distribute the ball well. He definitely outperformed his Italian counterpart, Andrea Bargnani on this night. He had some nice plays including some key threes and some nice dishes to Andris Biedrins. Chris Bosh hit a three in the mid second to pull within one, as the Warriors led 37-36. Although the Warriors slack on the defensive end, they had a few nice defensive plays where Ronny Turiaf had two consecutive blocks on Bosh and Jose. After the blocks, he danced and it looked something like this. From there, the Golden State made a run and then led by eight at the half. Chris Bosh had a good half with 17 points at the half. Jermaine O'neal did not return after the half due to flu-like symptoms.

The Golden State Warriors were living off the three ball and were 8/13 from three, two minutes into the third. They ended up going on a 12-2 run and with another three from Marco Belinelli, the Warriors got up 15 on the Raps. Jamario Moon then hit a three and had three threes in the game. Crazy. The Warriors REALLY don't play defense if Jamario's knocking down threes. The Warriors in turn had hit ten three pointers by the third quarter.

I think you might remember this guy, Kris Humphries (who's been buried on the bench), he made an appearance in the fourth and made a few key plays to get within 4. Marco Belinelli continued to perform well and had some good assists. The final minutes with the score 106-101, Bosh drilled a three to knock the Warriors' lead down to two. Then the Raps had a few open look threes, Parker, Kapono and Calderon all had open looks but they all bounced out. Bosh was able to get some good boards for an opportunity for a Kapono three but the shot still wouldn't fall. The Raps kept getting breaks with offensive fouls against the Warriors but couldn't convert. The Raps were only down 108-106 with one minute remaining until CJ Watons hit a clutch basket to go up 4. The Raps turned it over twice in the closing seconds including a botched inbounds play. Anthony Parker hit a three at the end to bring the Raps to 113-109 but it wasn't enough as the Warriors finished off the Raps 117-111. Tough loss for the Raps.

Double Double Doubles
Bosh had 30pts & 14 boards, Calderon had 21 pts & 16 assists

Warriors Who Came out to Play
Marco Belinelli had 23 points, 6 assists and 5 threes
Stephen Jackson had 30pts, 7 assists, 7 boards in 48 minutes of play
Andris Biedrins had 13pts, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks
For a Warriors point of view, check out GoldenStateOfMind.com

The Raps are finally home on Wednesday as they face the Denver Nuggets.


Photo credit: (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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