-You knew this wasn't going to be a pretty match but it was even uglier than expected. The Toronto Raptors beat the New Jersey Nets 106 to 89 using a balanced scoring effort in the absence of Chris Bosh, and shooting 60 per cent from the field in the process. Bosh missed this one with a sprained ankle suffered late in the loss to Memphis Wednesday night, but was replaced in the starting line-up by an incredibly effective Rasho Nesterovic, who finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a block in 25 minutes of action!
-In fact, Rasho was one of seven players in double figures scoring-wise for Toronto, including all five starters, and while the team struggled from the free-throw line, they were 14 of 25 on the night, there wasn't much else to pick at. 15 turnovers let New Jersey hang around in the third quarter, but the Raps were just too much for the Nets in the end, who you have to wonder about. I mean, could this team even beat some of the upper echelon Division I teams in college?
-New Jersey was led by their usual suspects, Brook Lopez (22 and 9) and Devin Harris (19 and 11 assists), and Courtney Lee threw in 17 points as well. But the rest of the team was putrid offensively including starers Jianlian and Hayes, who were a combined 4 of 23 from the field!
-The win marks Toronto's 19th straight game scoring over 100 points and a still perfect record (18 and 0) when holding opponents under 100 points. Up next is a quick turnaround back to the ACC to take on the new-look Washington Wizards tomorrow night, another game that the Dinos need to grab.
-For the Nets? Well...this season can't end soon enough as they continue to be on pace to break the record for NBA team futility in a season...