With a daunting Western road swing looming next month, Toronto Raptors star Chris Bosh knows his team needs to take advantage of the favourable portion of the schedule.
So far, so good.
In the midst of a stretch in which they play nine of 10 games against teams with losing records, the Raptors (32-24) extended their winning streak to three games with an easy 107-85 victory over the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves (12-44) Wednesday night before a crowd of 18,325 at the Air Canada Centre.
"We play these games (knowing) we do have to go out West (for a five-game swing in March)," said Bosh, who led the Raptors with 28 points and seven rebounds. "We need to build ourselves up right now because we have to be confident going out there since there are a lot of good teams out there. They play well at home and they're all playing for something."
With their eighth win in a row against the Timberwolves, the Raptors improved to a season-high eight games over .500 and held on to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Timberwolves remain the second-worst team in the league, ahead of only the awful Miami Heat (10-44).
While the game wasn't billed as guaranteed win night, anything less than a convincing Raptors victory would have been a bit of a disappointment. Though the Raptors have lost to lightweights like the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers this season, the Timberwolves entered the night with a woeful 2-23 road record and were on the second half of back-to-back games after a surprising home win over the Utah Jazz Tuesday night.
After a weak first quarter, the Raptors took charge and rolled to a fourth home win in a row by more than 15 points. The Raptors' past eight wins have come by an average of 22.3 points.
The Raptors made a point of driving to the net against Minnesota and it resulted in 28 trips to the free-throw line and 24 points.
"When you've got a tired basketball team, you've got to force the issue," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "We did a good job getting to the free-throw line. That's the thing you've got to do."
One of the key ingredients in the winning formula was rapidly-improving backup point guard T.J. Ford, who made all of his season-high eight free-throw attempts. Ford's ability to penetrate resulted in a 13-point first half, much of it coming in the second quarter when the Raptors outscored the Timberwolves 25-15 to take an eight-point halftime lead.
Ford, who had 16 points against Minnesota, has 47 points and 15 assists in his past three games. Sidelined by a scary neck injury for almost two months, Ford has played just 25 games this season. But with Ford getting up to speed and starter Jose Calderon continuing his consistent play (six points, seven assists), the Raptors have a formula for success.
"The game finished as such that T.J. was able to get the minutes that he needs to probably get back in the groove quicker than he normally would," Mitchell said. "We need both of those guys.'' Big Al Jefferson topped the Timberwolves with 23 points, while sophomore Randy Foye added 18. But the Timberwolves turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 30 Toronto points. Conversely, Toronto committed just seven turnovers.
The Raptors play host to the Indiana Pacers Friday before embarking on a three-game road swing.
Notes: With his fourth three-pointer of the season in the first quarter Wednesday, Bosh tied Morris Peterson for second on the Raptors career scoring list with 6,498 points. Bosh overtook Peterson later in the first. Vince Carter leads the way with 9,420 points...Minnesota Timberwolves first-year assistant coach Ed Pinckney, a starter on the inaugural Raptors team, returned to Toronto Wednesday for the first time as a coach. Pinckney took the first tipoff in Raptors history, squaring off against New Jersey Nets centre Yinka Dare at the then-SkyDome on Nov. 3, 1995...The Raptors' sellout streak ended at nine games as just over 1,400 seats were empty for Wednesday's game.
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