• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Bargnani clutch down stretch as Raptors beat Bobcats

Apr 4, 2012 - 3:24 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Andrea Bargnani scored 30 points, including the final nine for the Raptors in their 92-87 win over the Bobcats.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for Toronto, which snapped a six-game losing streak to Charlotte and won back-to-back games for the first time since January 24-25.

Byron Mullens finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bobcats, losers of eight straight.

"He keeps amazing me," Bobcats head coach Paul Silas said of Mullens. "He's just getting better."

Two of Charlotte's seven wins coming in came against Toronto, and Mullens' three-pointer with 62 seconds remaining cut the visitors' deficit to 85-84, giving the Bobcats hope for a second straight season sweep.

But Bargnani answered with a three-pointer of his own and countered D.J. Augustin's trey with a hook shot for a 90-87 cushion with 26.9 seconds left.

Mullens missed from long range at the other end, and Bargnani appropriately sealed the win at the foul line.

"We did a much better job on defense in the second half," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "We [played] hard and Andrea had some big shots late."

Toronto led 24-22 after the first quarter and pushed its cushion to 53-46 at the break after getting 12 points from Linas Kleiza in the second frame.

An evenly-played third quarter ended with the Raptors holding a 71-64 edge.

Game Notes

Toronto went 3-2 on its homestand...Kleiza logged 18 points...Augustin netted 18 points off Charlotte's bench...The Raptors shot 46 percent to Charlotte's 40 percent effort and held a 46-38 rebounding advantage.