Bosh scores 30 points as Raptors beat Hawks 93-88

TORONTO(AP) About the only opponent Chris Bosh couldn't beat Friday night was the elevator in his condominium.Bosh
had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Jason Kapono scored a season-high 16
points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 93-88.Joey Graham added 11 points and Jamario Moon had 10 for Toronto, with guard Jose Calderon picking up 11 assists.Mike Bibby scored 24 points for Atlanta, Joe Johnson had 18 and reserve Maurice Evans added 17.Al Horford and Marvin Williams each had 10 points for the Hawks, who got 17 rebounds from Zaza Pachulia.Bosh
arrived at Air Canada Centre less than an hour before the game after
spending 50 minutes stuck in an elevator at his downtown condo. Bosh
said the car stopped, trapping him and two strangers, just after he got
on at the 28th floor."I sat and reflected on life and just chilled,'' Bosh said, adding that he tried to force the door open, but couldn't succeed."I tried my superhuman strength but it wasn't opening,'' he said.Once
free, Bosh didn't have enough time for his usual pregame routine and
said it threw him off in the first half, when he scored 10 points."Usually
I get here and get my muscles warm, get warmed up, go out there and get
some shots before we hear the pregame speech,'' he said. "I didn't have
any time for that. I just got here and got straight to the point.''Comfortable
again in the second half, Bosh made seven of 10 shots and scored 15
points in the third, then added five more in the fourth to tally 30 or
more for the seventh time in 15 games this season."He's a nightmare for any forward or center to guard,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.Bosh said he'll think twice about how he descends from his condo in the future."I know if that elevator opens, I'm not getting on it,'' he said.Bosh
wore a brace and a wrap on his left knee but insisted it was only a
preventive measure because of knee injuries the past two seasons."I'm just happy I'm back to 100 percent,'' Bosh said. "That's the reason for the brace, to make sure I stay that way.''Leading
69-65 after three quarters, the Raptors began the fourth with an 8-2
run, taking a 77-67 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining."They
came out and hit us in the mouth to start the fourth quarter,'' Johnson
said. "It's tough, especially when you're in somebody else's house, to
try and dig into a lead and come back late in a game.''Atlanta
cut it to 83-78 with six minutes left, but Kapono made a 3-pointer from
the corner and, after a basket by Horford, Bosh converted a three-point
play to make it 89-80.Evans and Bibby had four points apiece in
an 8-2 run as the Hawks cut it to 91-88 with 1:03 remaining but Bosh
rebounded Williams' miss with 17 seconds to play, allowing Kapono to
seal it with a pair of free throws."We just didn't have enough in the tank to get it done,'' Woodson said.The
Hawks, who came in with the NBA's highest 3-point shooting percentage,
went 6-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half but made just
2-of-13 in the second."We hurt ourselves because we settled too
much for 3s,'' Woodson said. "We were just too selfish tonight.
Sometimes those shots are appetizing and they look good, but if you're
not making jump shots, you've got to get to the free throw line.''Bibby, who was 4-of-7 from long range, didn't agree that the Hawks shot too many 3-pointers."I
don't think we were forcing them, they weren't going in when we needed
them,'' he said. "If you have the open shot, you have to knock it down.
You have to shoot it.''Leading 24-21 after one quarter, Toronto
extended its lead to 12 points with a 9-2 run to start the second.
Eight consecutive points got the Hawks back in it, and a layup by
Solomon Jones tied it at 43 with 2:03 left in the half. Bibby added a
3-pointer and a pair of free throws, giving Atlanta a 50-46 lead at the
half.Notes: Calderon briefly left the game after being knocked
down by Pachulia while battling for a rebound in the third, but
returned for the final seven minutes of the fourth. ... The Hawks have
lost six of nine. ... Atlanta forward Josh Smith (left ankle) has
resumed traveling and practicing with the team, but still isn't ready
to play. Smith, sidelined since Nov. 7, hopes to return Dec. 3 against
Memphis. ... Toronto's Jermaine O'Neal (left ankle) missed his second
straight game, but said he expects to play Sunday when the Raptors
visit the Los Angeles Lakers.