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Bosh's 35 points leads Raptors past Hawks

Jan 19, 2008 - 4:36 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors continued their strong play at home.

Bosh scored 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Raptors posted an 89-78 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Anthony Parker scored 18 points and Jose Calderon had 13 and nine assists for Toronto, which has won four straight at Air Canada Centre.

"It's the second half of the season, time for us to put some wins together," Bosh said.

The Raptors, who also have won five of six, can thank Bosh, who has stepped up his game recently.

A two-time All-Star, Bosh posted his third straight 30-plus point game and fifth in his last six contests.

"Chris is very patient and he just feels like, if he can get the ball right now, he is going to score," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said.

The fifth-year forward-center has averaged 34.7 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 67 percent (38-of-57) from the field in his last three contests.

"I'm feeling very confident, everything seems to be opening up for me right now," Bosh said. "It doesn't feel like I'm forcing things but I'm being aggressive when I need to and I don't feel like I'm taking many bad shots."

Against the Hawks, Bosh, who connected on 12-of-18 from the floor, scored 13 of his total in the final quarter to help secure the victory.

After Tyronn Lue nailed a 21-foot jumper to cut Atlanta's deficit to 75-73 with 5:20 left, Toronto went on an 8-0 spurt to push its lead out to 10.

Parker, who was 4-of-6 from 3-point range, drilled a 3-pointer to begin the burst, and Bosh's three-point play made it 83-73 with 3:30 remaining.

"I got in a rhythm in the third quarter, and it's all because of Chris because he commands so much attention and double-teams, and it's a bonus when we can capitalize and hit those shots," Parker said.

"A.P. (Parker) hit some big shots for us, we made the right cuts at the right time, and we made baskets when it counted," Bosh added.

A shot from the arc by Joe Johnson with 2:14 left cut the Raptors' lead to 83-76, but a layup and jumper by Calderon and a 19-footer from the top of the key by Bosh helped give Toronto its double-digit win.

"The Raptors hit some tough shots," Johnson said. "I think pretty much every three they hit in the fourth had a hand in their face."

"(Toronto) made big plays down the stretch," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.

Johnson scored 26 points and Josh Smith scored 25 for Atlanta, which shot 41 percent (31-of-75) and suffered its fifth straight road loss.

"We're going to have to figure out the road," Woodson said. "We're talking about make the playoffs and we're still right in the hunt where we need to be. We've got to start winning some games on the road."