Michigan Sports
Bargnani, Bosh lead Raptors past Pistons
AP
Bargnani had 22 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, Chris Bosh scored 25 points and the Raptors used a 44-point second quarter to beat the Pistons 110-99 on Wednesday night.
Bosh had eight rebounds, falling two shy of his fourth double-double in four games, but was pleased to see the 7-foot Bargnani pick up the slack.
‘‘We want more of that,’’ Bosh said. ‘‘He did a really good job on the boards tonight. That shows that if he really asserts himself on the boards, he can be a factor for us in rebounding. We need that, we need all the rebounds we can get.’’
Hedo Turkoglu added 16 points and Antoine Wright had 12 for the Raptors, who had lost seven of their previous eight games against Detroit.
Ben Gordon had a season-high 30 points, former Raptors player Charlie Villanueva and Will Bynum each scored 16 for the Pistons, who have lost three of four. Rodney Stuckey added 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Toronto became the first team this season to score more than 100 points against Detroit, which began the night second in the league behind Boston in points allowed at 85.3.
‘‘Needless to say, you let anybody in the league score that many points and it’s going to be tough to counter that,’’ Gordon said of Toronto’s explosive second. ‘‘It seemed like every possession they got a good shot or got to the free throw line. It’s tough to win like that, when you’re not really stopping them at all. They’re either going to get a good look or get some free throws.’’
Toronto’s reserves did most of the damage in the second, when the Raptors made seven of their first eight shots and 10 of their first 12. The 44 points were a season high for a quarter and gave Toronto a season-high 68 in the first half.
‘‘Our bench was outstanding,’’ coach Jay Triano said. ‘‘I thought they came in, gave us energy, they ran up and down the floor, they got us stops and deflections. That was some of the best basketball that group has played and they earned themselves minutes in the second half because of that.’’
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