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Raptors-Hawks Preview

Apr 8, 2010 - 6:30 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Toronto (38-40) at Atlanta (49-29), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Three weeks ago, Chris Bosh helped the Toronto Raptors take advantage of the absence of Atlanta Hawks leading scorer Joe Johnson.

While Johnson might be out again Friday night in Atlanta, the Raptors won't be able to rely on Bosh this time.

Attempting to close in on the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth, Toronto will try to overcome the loss of its leading scorer and rebounder and win in Atlanta for the first time in nearly 2 1/2 years.

Bosh made a 16-foot jumper with 2.1 seconds left in a 106-105 home victory over the Hawks on March 17, while Johnson sat with a strained Achilles'. That shot is one of the reasons Toronto (38-40) is still battling Chicago for the eighth playoff spot in the East.

The Raptors will have to beat out the Bulls without Bosh, who's expected to be sidelined for "weeks" while recovering from surgery to repair a facial fracture. The All-Star forward, who's averaging career bests of 24.0 points and 10.8 rebounds, suffered the injury when he took an inadvertent elbow from Cleveland forward Antawn Jamison in a 113-101 loss Tuesday.

The next night, Hedo Turkoglu bumped heads with Boston's Tony Allen as Toronto dropped its third straight, 115-104. Turkoglu remains day-to-day after a CT scan showed no major injuries.

"When it rains it pours, I guess," swingman Antoine Wright said. "We're dropping like flies right now."

Those injuries could hurt the Raptors during a pivotal two-game stretch against the Hawks (49-29) and Bulls, who visit Toronto on Sunday.

Heading to Atlanta doesn't seem like a good way to begin as they're winless in four trips since a 100-88 victory Dec. 11, 2007. The Raptors, though, could have an opportunity to snap that skid if Johnson misses his fourth straight game with a sprained right thumb.

Before the loss in March, the Hawks had won four straight over Toronto with their leading scorer (21.2 ppg) in the lineup, including the first two meetings this season. In the previous matchup in Atlanta, they broke a Philips Arena scoring record with a 146-115 victory Dec. 2. Al Horford scored 24 points to lead nine Hawks players in double figures.

Atlanta, though, has scored 94.3 points per game - 7.3 below its season average - over its last nine contests, topping 100 just once. Despite those scoring struggles, the Hawks have won 10 straight at home, their longest streak since taking 20 straight from Nov. 12, 1996-Feb. 12, 1997.

Adding to that run would give Atlanta its first 50-win season since 1997-98 and also help in the race for the East's No. 3 seed. The Hawks enter Friday tied with Boston with four games remaining for both clubs.

They'll face a Raptors team that's allowed at least 113 points in four straight games and an average of 108.7 during a 7-16 stretch.

That could help the Hawks deliver a better performance than in Wednesday's 90-88 loss at Detroit. Against a team that was missing five players, Atlanta blew a nine-point lead, getting outscored 25-16 in the fourth quarter.

"We just self-destructed again," coach Mike Woodson said. "That's something we've got to figure out before we start playing playoff basketball."

The loss has Woodson's team on the verge of losing three straight for the first time since a season-high, four-game slide from Dec. 29-Jan. 4.