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Bosh back to lead Raptors against Cavaliers

Mar 21, 2008 - 1:42 PM Toronto (35-33) at Cleveland (39-30) 7:30 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - Chris Bosh returned just in time.

Bosh and the Toronto Raptors try to gain ground and put pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs when the clubs clash Friday.

After missing the last 10 games due to a nagging right sore knee injury, Bosh returned to help the Raptors record an easy 96-54 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

"I just wanted to play defense," said Bosh, who collected eight points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. "I wasn't worried about offense. Once I get in shape it will come a little easier."

With just 14 games remaining in the regular season, Toronto trails Cleveland by 3 1/2 games for fourth place in the East standings.

When Cleveland and Toronto met here on November 24, superstar LeBron James registered a triple-double for the Cavaliers in an 111-108 win, upstaging Bosh's 41-point effort.

The 6-8 James once again torched the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, scoring 30 points to lift the Cavaliers to a convincing 89-73 triumph.

"We took five steps forward, especially on the defensive end," said James, who is averaging 27.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 17 games against Toronto. "We didn't execute like I think we can, but we did down the stretch."