What a tough matchup for Toronto with CP3 and his New Orleans Hornets in town. It was a Jose Calderon-Chris Paul point guard matchup and it was also the return of MoPete to Toronto, one of the Raps’ all-time faves. Unfortunately, he was a DNP – Coach’s Decision.
The first quarter had the Raps playing good D holding Paul and the Hornets to only 22 pts. I think Raps play well when they hold opponents to under 25 pts per quarter. James Posey hit some big shots early on in the first.
The play of the day? AP with the sweet dish to Jermaine Oneal.
In the second quarter, Raps came out strong building up on their lead of 8 points until…..
Posey hit another big three.
Posey again with a three.
Again, Posey with the 3 to tie it at 44, the Hornets went on a 17-4 run
James Posey had 5 threes at the half…ouch. James Posey has been a great addition to the Hornets with his championship experience with Miami and Boston. Chris Paul was great too, as he just drove down the lane, the Toronto defense would collapse and then he just kicked it out to any of their outside shooters. As far as Toronto, Andrea Bargnani is looking more and more like “Bust”-nani as he continues to be ineffective both offensively and defensively. He needs to become more consistent with his efforts as you never what you’re going to get form him from game to game. Raps managed to lose their lead (again) and trailed 51-46 to the Hornets at the half. New Orleans had shot 51% at the half.
In the second half, Posey hit another 3 in the 3rd quarter for a total of 6 threes for the game. Raps defense played good D in the second half but were only down 8 to New Orleans 80-72 after the third. In the 4th, Jose hit a big three with 6 min left to pull within 6. The Raps stayed close but missed some key shots at the end. I’m not too crazy on Bosh’s three attempts in the closing minutes when they’re down. Hornets ended up closing out the Raps 99-91
It was a loss but a loss to a very good Western Conference team. It wasn’t disappointing as the Raps played good ball and were competitive to the end. Bosh, Calderon and J.O. all had great games. Bosh had 25pts-8reb-6asst, J.O. had 19pts-7reb and Jose had 22pts, 7 assists going 8-8 from the field. For the Hornets, David West led the way with 29pts, 9 boards.
As a side note, the CBC crew announced that the Raptors signed Jake Voskuhl and can play as soon as tomorrow against the Nets.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
