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Bosh outduels Villanueva as Raptors down Bucks

Apr 10, 2008 - 3:12 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Chris Bosh may not have won his individual battle with Charlie Villanueva, but his Toronto Raptors won the war.

Bosh had 32 points and 11 rebounds - off-setting a season-high 38 and 12 from Villanueva - as the Raptors downed the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-93, on Wednesday.

Toronto (39-38), which entered this game losing of 11 of its last 15 games, managed to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff picture - remaining in seventh place, one game behind Philadelphia (40-38) and two games behind Washington (41-37).

"It was an important win for us because it gets us back to ground zero and getting back to the things we do well," Bosh said. "I think we did great job at the defensive end."

The first half featured an incredible individual battle between each team's power forward - Bosh and Villanueva. Villanueva was so hot that he scored the Bucks' first 11 points and 14 of their 18 first-quarter points.

For Villanueva, it was another opportunity to remind his former team what they were missing out on. He was traded by the Raptors to the Bucks for guard T.J. Ford following the 2006 season.

The second quarter was more of the same as Villanueva opened with Milwaukee's first 13 points - including 3-pointers on three straight possessions - as the Bucks hung tight, trailing only 50-48 at intermission.

In all, Villanueva scored 25 of Milwaukee's first 29 points.

"I had it going, I was in the zone," Villanueva said. "Every time, I come here, I feel like I've got something to prove."

"I think Charlie V. kept us in the game offensively in the first half," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said.

Not to be outdone, Bosh nearly matched his counterpart shot for shot, totaling 22 points in the first half.

The personal battle between the two forwards took a rest in the third quarter as Bosh outscored Villanueva, 7-3, over the 12 minutes.

However, Bosh's scoring all came near the beginning of a pivotal 23-9 run over the last 8:11 of the third quarter to give the Raptors a 83-68 cushion.

"In the second half, we pretty much dominated them," Bosh said. "We have to continue to play team basketball on both ends."

Even though Villanueva cranked up the scoring again in the fourth with eight more points, the Raptors withstood the charge this time, not allowing the Bucks to get any closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

"I had a pretty good game overall, but I'd still rather win," said Villanueva, who finished 14-of-25 from the field, including a career-best 7-of-12 from the arc.

Anthony Parker added 18 points while Jose Calderon handed out 12 assists for the Raptors, who snapped a two-game home losing streak.

"It definitely feels good to get the 'W,'" Parker said. "We really tried to execute defensively down the stretch not to let them get back in the game. We have to bring the energy as we head into our last games and get ready for the playoffs."

Michael Redd finished with 17 points for the Bucks, who were playing in the second half of a back-to-back, having dropped a heartbreaking 107-104 overtime decision on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics.