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Long-range barrage lifts Raptors over Pacers

Dec 15, 2007 - 5:58 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Toronto Raptors fell behind before resorting to the thing they do better than anyone else in the NBA - 3-point shooting.

Jason Kapono scored 29 points and knocked down six 3-pointers to lead the Raptors to a 104-93 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Chris Bosh had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Jose Calderon collected 18 and 16 assists for Toronto, which has won four straight games - two away from home.

The Raptors lead the league in 3-point field-goal percentage at 43.3 percent and lit up the scoreboard from the arc in the fourth quarter of this one, knocking down six to turn a 77-69 deficit into a convincing win.

"We wanted to pound the glass and get easy buckets," Bosh said. "We did that and, once they started collapsing, that gave all of our shooters a chance to let it go."

Kapono, who scored all but four of his points in the second half, knocked down four from the arc in the final period.

"Everybody on the court did a good job finding him," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of Kapono. "He did a good job getting open, and I thought everything was set up well. We found Kris Humphries early, rolling to the basket for some easy layups, and it's hard to guard the 3-point line when you've got a 6-9 guy standing wide open under the basket."

"It was great. You want to take about 40 shots," Kapono said. "It was one of those rare times where you feel like every shot you take is a good shot."

The Pacers looked to be in control early, using an 11-0 run in the second quarter to open up a 45-34 advantage with 3:33 left in the half. Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Danny Granger combined for 17 points in the second as Indiana took a 52-41 lead into the locker room.

The lead would have been larger if not for the play of Bosh, who scored 13 of his points in the opening half on 6-of-8 shooting, including 11 points in the first quarter.

Humphries contributed to Toronto's cause with nine points in the first half and finished the game with a season high-tying 17.

"I had a tough assignment tonight with Jermaine (O'Neal)," Humphries said. "I just tried to keep balls alive, and there was a couple of times that I didn't get the rebound, but I kept him from getting it. We fought hard, came back, and got an important win."

Indiana extended its lead in the third when David Harrison capped a 7-0 run with a jumper to push it to 66-49 with 7:35 left in the period. Dunleavy scored five points during the run and finished the game with 23 on 10-of-21 shooting.

Toronto spent the next 3 1/2 minutes carving into the deficit with an 11-0 run that brought it to within 66-60 with 4:00 remaining in the third.

Calderon, who is seeing extended minutes due to the absence of starter T.J. Ford, scored six points during the spurt. Calderon, who entered the contest leading the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 6-to-1, committed just a pair of turnovers.

Toronto really turned on the offensive jets in the final period, outscoring the Pacers, 35-18, over the final 12 minutes. Carlos Delfino scored the first seven points of the quarter and Kapono poured in 17 for the Raptors.

"Getting outscored 35-18 in the fourth is a bad quarter," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "Our defense didn't hold up, after carrying us for the first three quarters, and they certainly got hot."

Granger finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Jermaine O'Neal added 13 points for Indiana, which has lost two of its last three to drop below .500 at 11-12.

"Kapono made a lot of shots," O'Neal said. "Obviously, they got some assistance from some very questionable calls, but the shot making was the difference in the fourth quarter. (Kapono) hit three or four threes that were highly contested, and we weren't able to go down and make shots ourselves."