Parker scores 26 points as Raptors beat Magic

TORONTO(AP) It's hard to imagine anything
lacking in a 39-point performance by Dwight Howard, but Orlando coach
Stan Van Gundy wasn't too happy about his star center's seven missed
free throws.Especially considering the Magic lost by six.Anthony
Parker scored a season-high 26 points, Chris Bosh added 23 points and
10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors overcame Howard's big game to beat
the Magic 108-102 on Sunday.Howard matched career highs in both
points and field goals. But while Toronto went 14-of-15 from the foul
line in the fourth quarter, Howard was languishing through an 11-for-18
performance from the stripe."That's about what he shoots, but
it's not good enough,'' Van Gundy said. "Sixty percent at the free
throw line makes it tough. We've got a tremendous advantage down there.
They couldn't guard him at all, but they get to the fourth quarter and
they just foul and it's one for two every time. Then you're coming to
the other end and it's two for two. That's a big difference.''Howard wasn't beating himself up over the misses, four of which came in the final quarter."I'm
going to miss free throws,'' said Howard, who came in shooting a
career-low 56.7 percent from the line this season. "I'm not 100 percent
from the line. I've just got to have confidence when I step up there to
make them. I know Stan gets on me a lot, but I'm going to miss some and
I'm going to make some.''Howard, who had eight rebounds, took responsibility for some of the Magic's other problems."We
didn't play as good as we needed to play,'' he said. "We didn't block
out on rebounds, we didn't do a lot of the little things and I take the
blame for a lot of the stuff that happened tonight. I wasn't there
defensively like I should have been.''After seven lead changes,
Bosh broke a 101-all tie with a pair of free throws with 2:27 left,
putting the Raptors on top for good. Bosh finished 13-for-14 from the
line, including 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter."We made very poor
plays down the stretch, very poor turnovers and bad shots down the
stretch, and they made good plays and got to the free throw line,'' Van
Gundy said. "The team that won is the team that deserved to win. I
thought they played harder and better.''Parker was 13-of-16 from
the field and came within one point of his career high. The Raptors
also got 18 points from Andrea Bargnani, 12 from Roko Ukic and 11 from
Will Solomon."Every game from now on is the biggest game of the year,'' Bosh said. "We'll take any win, any way we can get it.''Rashard
Lewis had 20 points and six 3-pointers for the Magic, who shot
15-for-34 from beyond the arc, one shy of a season-high. Jameer Nelson
scored 15 for Orlando.Howard scored nine points before the game
was three minutes old but was forced to the bench after picking up his
second foul at 9:25. Toronto took advantage, closing the first quarter
on a 20-5 run to lead 34-22."It was a little tough,'' Howard
said. "You've just got to try to stay out of foul trouble. I was a very
amped up for the game.''Howard returned to start the second, but
Toronto pushed its lead to 44-28 before Orlando clawed back. Nelson had
eight points and Howard added nine more in the quarter as the Magic cut
the gap to 56-49 at the half.A 10-2 run to end the third gave
Orlando its first lead since 15-14 midway through the first quarter,
with Howard's breakaway dunk with 33 seconds left sending the Magic
into the final frame holding a 78-77 edge.Toronto forward
Jermaine O'Neal (right knee) missed his third consecutive game, while
guard Jose Calderon (right hamstring) did not dress. Coach Jay Triano
said Calderon would likely miss this week's road trip to Milwaukee and
Washington.Notes: Toronto had not won back-to-back home games
since beating Charlotte and Atlanta on Nov. 26 and 28. ... Howard also
scored 39 against Seattle on Nov. 28, 2007. ... All six of Lewis' field
goals were 3-pointers. ... Orlando recorded a season-high 27 assists.