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Raptors seek ninth straight home win

Feb 21, 2007 - 3:53 PM Cleveland (31-22) at Toronto (29-24) 7:00 pm EST

TORONTO (Ticker) -- The All-Star break could not have come at a worse time for the Toronto Raptors.

The first-place Raptors look for their ninth consecutive home victory when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Toronto won eight of nine games before the All-Star break to build a 4 1/2-game lead over New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.

The Raptors last won nine in a row, bridging the 2001-02 and the 2002-03 campaigns.

Toronto used balanced scoring in a 120-109 victory over New Jersey last Wednesday. All-Star Chris Bosh had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists and T.J. Ford added 17 points and eight assists.

Superstar LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hope to build on a big win in their last game before the All-Star break. The Cavaliers won four out of their last five games heading into the break, including a 114-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday.

Struggling from the line all season, James nailed huge free throws down the stretch and scored 38 points for Cleveland, which opens the second half of the campaign two games behind Detroit for the Central Division lead and the best record in the Eastern Conference.