Raptors Team Report
(Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:40:38 PDT)

If there is anything that can be considered a soft touch for a team that's been struggling like Toronto has since the All-Star break, it comes in the Raptors' next game.

Playing their final road game against a Western Conference opponent, the Raptors are in Minneapolis on Monday night to continue—they hope—a string of unprecedented success.

The Raptors have won 11 straight against the Timberwolves, and Monday's game is almost shaping up as a "must-win" outing for a Toronto team freefalling through the Eastern Conference standings.

The Raptors do tend to match up well against Minnesota, as the Timberwolves have historically found it difficult to defend both Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.

Toronto has had difficulty exploiting mismatches at times...

Bosh scores 36 points, slumping Raptors find Nets the perfect opponent, 100-90
(Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:03:42 PDT)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - With the Toronto Raptors in the midst of a slump, Chris Bosh got a little pep talk from Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright and Marcus Banks before their game with the woeful New Jersey Nets.

Bosh has 36 points, Raptors hand Nets loss No. 62
(Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:07:21 PDT)
With the Toronto Raptors in the midst of a slump, Chris Bosh got a little pep talk from Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright and Marcus Banks before their game with the woeful New Jersey Nets. The message was simple. Play some basketball, have some fun and score 30 points. Bosh did that and more, scoring 23 of his 36 points in the second half and the Raptors kept the Nets on the road to an NBA single-season...

Raptors guard Marco Belinelli out with sore back
(Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:14:18 PDT)
Toronto backup guard Marco Belinelli was a late scratch for the Raptors' game against the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night because of a sore lower back. The Raptors didn't make the announcement until roughly 45 minutes before game time. Belinelli is averaging 7.6 points in 57 games. Guard Antoine Wright, who missed the Raptors' last two games with a sore right ankle, returned to the...

Durant, Thunder rout Raptors
(Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:58:51 PDT)
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of the fading Toronto Raptors. Durant scored 23 of his 31 points in the first half to lead the Thunder to their sixth victory in seven games, 115-89 over the Raptors on Friday night. Durant was 7 of 16 from the field and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line.

Bosh hits winner for Raptors
(Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:39:22 PDT)
Chris Bosh put a poor shooting performance behind him in a big way for the Toronto Raptors. Bosh hit a 16-foot jumper with 2.1 seconds left and the Raptors ended a five-game losing streak with a 106-105 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday night. "I shot it with confidence, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it (was) going in," said Bosh.

Batum, Aldridge each score 22 in Blazers' win
(Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:48:29 PDT)
Not so long ago, coach Nate McMillan had a talk with Nicolas Batum suggesting the forward get back to what has worked best for him in the past: defense. The 6-foot-8 Frenchman, in his second season, said McMillan told him to "just play defense first, then the offense will come." It all clicked on Sunday night, when Batum scored 22 points, making five of six 3-point attempts, to help the...

Warriors hand reeling Raptors fourth straight loss
(Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:08:43 PST)
The Toronto Raptors are quickly fading in the Eastern Conference and Chris Bosh is getting frustrated. In a brief three-minute conversation with reporters following a 124-112 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, Bosh criticized his teammates and himself and said he's out of explanations for Toronto's slide that has the Raptors on the fringe of missing the postseason.

Suicide lines: Tyreke's triple-double; Ray and Rondo; Happy Hairston
(Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:15:24 PST)
Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your witty breakfast item.

Kobe Bryant: Lakers 'edgy and upset'
(Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:26:59 PST)
The Los Angeles Lakers just lost three games in a row, the first such streak of the last two seasons, and Kobe...