NBA – Calderon’s 22 points, 19 assists help Raptors beat Chicago
TORONTO (NBA) – The Toronto Raptors have endured a nightmare campaign but for those wondering if this team can turn it around and return to the play-offs next year, Jose Calderon of Spain and his teammates showed on Sunday there is cause for optimism.
Calderon scored 22 points and tied a franchise record with 19 assists to help the Raptors beat the Bulls 134-129 in overtime for their fourth straight win.
“It feels pretty good,” Calderon said of the winning streak. “I think everybody is helping each other.
"It's sweet and sour a little bit because we are not that far from playing at the level of the other teams in the play-offs.
"We've had too many little things go wrong. It has been a tough season, but we have to keep working."
Toronto coach Jay Triano was asked about Calderon’s effort and he answered: "Can you play much better?''
"Nineteen assists, a career-high for him, and 22 points.
"He had a nice mixture of sharing the basketball, distributing to his teammates. He just played very, very well and very solid."
Chris Bosh of Team USA also had a double-double, finishing with game highs in points (31) and rebounds (15).
Italy’s Andrea Bargnani poured in 28 points while Great Britain’s Pops Mensah-Bonsu came off the bench to score 13 in more than 23 minutes.
The Raptors are 28-45.
Defeat was costly for Chicago as they fell to eighth place in the Eastern Conference at 36-39 with Detroit (36-37) leapfrogging them into seventh after a 101-97 victory over sixth-place Philadelphia (37-35).
Atlanta (43-31) strengthened their grip on fourth place thanks to an 86-76 triumph over the Western Conference champions Los Angeles Lakers (58-15).
Mike Bibby scored 21 for the Hawks, who are three and a half games ahead of fifth-place Miami.
Boston closed the gap on second-top Orlando in the Eastern Conference to a half game by winning over Oklahoma City 103-84.
The leaders in the East, Cleveland (60-13), clinched a franchise record 12th consecutive victory with a 102-74 win over Dallas (43-30), who are eighth in the Western Conference.
The Mavs maintained their three and a half game lead over Phoenix, however, after the Suns lost 126-118 at the lowly Sacramento Kings.
New Orleans improved to 45-27 and are seventh in the West after a 90-86 win over San Antonio (48-25).
The Hornets have the same record as sixth-place Utah, who did not play on Sunday.
The Spurs no longer have a firm grip on second place in the West. They are a half-game clear of both Denver and Houston.
In other games, Indiana prevailed 124-115 over Washington and Minnesota beat New Jersey 108-99.
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