Ford and Raptors earn third straight win
TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Raptors recorded one of their best victories of the season Sunday, but little was said about basketball afterwards.
The players' thoughts were with teammate Jose Calderon, who was carried off the court on a stretcher with a back injury late in Toronto's 120-115 win over the Golden State Warriors.
''The game, as important as it is, it's not more important than Jose,'' Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. ''This is our job, this is what we do, but we as individuals and people are more important than basketball. So we just hope and pray that he is OK.''
Calderon went down while battling for a rebound with Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus with 32 seconds left in the game. He immediately clutched his back and yelled to the bench for help.
Calderon was conscious as he was fitted with a neckbrace and carried off the floor. Fans at the Air Canada Centre chanted the Spaniard's name while Raptors players and general manager Bryan Colangelo looked on with concern. The guard raised a hand to wave to the crowd as he was wheeled out.
Calderon was taken to hospital for more testing, accompanied by fellow Spaniard and Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa, but team officials said he was ''neurologically intact.''
''He does have movement in his arms, all his limbs and his neck,'' said Jim Labumbard, the team's director of media relations. ''I can tell you he seemed actually in good spirits. He's smiling, (giving) thumbs-up to people.''
Morris Peterson scored 23 points to lead the Raptors, and five teammates scored in double figures en route to Toronto's third win in a row.
T.J. Ford finished with 21 points plus 14 assists, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, and Jorge Garbajosa had 18 points apiece, and Rasho Nesterovic chipped in with 13.
The victory marked the first time the Raptors (10-14) have won three straight games this season and Toronto's 120 points were a season high.
''That's what coach has been talking about all season, more than one or two players showing up on the same day and having great games,'' Peterson said. ''Guys played well, we played together, we played hard defensively, and when we got on them defensively and made things happen, our offence came around.''
But the win was overshadowed by Calderon's injury, because the Raptors know firsthand how frightening back injuries can be. While Calderon lay on the floor, forward Pape Sow closed his eyes and clasped his hands in prayer. Sow fractured a vertebrae in his back during the summer league, and may sit out this entire season.
''It was bringing back memories, but I was praying that what happened to me didn't happen to me. Thank God he's talking and moving,'' Sow said. ''I'm 100 per cent sure he's going to back soon because he's talking, he's moving, things I couldn't do, I'm very happy to see that.''
Ford missed almost half of his rookie season and all of his sophomore season after suffering a spinal cord injury Feb. 24, 2004. The point guard said Calderon's injury put a huge damper on the win.
''Because he means so much to us,'' said Ford. ''He's part of our family, and in this locker-room we are a family, and to see somebody get carried out on a stretcher, it's not the greatest thing in the world. But we said a prayer, and we'll continue to pray he's OK.''
With all-star forward Chris Bosh sidelined for the fifth straight game with a bone bruise on his left knee, the rest of the Raptors once again stepped up in his absence. They moved the ball, spread the scoring around, rebounded and defended well, and led for most of the afternoon, taking a 95-83 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Golden State rallied in the fourth, a three-pointer by Matt Barnes with just over four minutes left cutting Toronto's lead to 111-106. But the Raptors held the Warriors without a field goal until Keith McLeod sunk a three with 19 seconds on the clock.
''We got back in the game and did some things on the offensive end, but we lost the game due to the fact that we didn't rebound the basketball, we didn't play with intensity on the defensive end, and I think that we turned the ball over too much today,'' said Baron Davis, who had 20 points for Golden State.
Monta Ellis had 28 points to top the Warriors (9-15).
Bargnani, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, had the best all-around game of his young career, finishing with career highs in rebounds, with 10, and a career-best six blocks.
The Raptors outrebounded the Warriors 50-38, with Garbajosa's 11 leading the way. The Raptors shot 47 per cent on the afternoon.
The Raptors had another strong start, shooting 50 per cent in the first quarter to lead 34-28 heading into the second.
A Peterson three-pointer put Toronto up by 13 midway through the second, but the Warriors managed to whittle away at the Raptors' lead and Toronto went into halftime up 63-57.
Peterson scored 10 points in the third, connecting on a layup and three-pointer on consecutive plays to give the Raptors a 95-80 lead with 12 seconds left in the quarter. Davis hit a three with a second remaining on the clock and Toronto led 95-83 with a quarter left to play.
NOTES: Raptors guard Fred Jones didn't dress (calf contusion). .. The Raptors are at Phoenix on Tuesday to begin a four-game, five-day road trip that also includes stops at Los Angeles (Clippers), Portland and Seattle. .. The Warriors beat the Raptors 110-99 earlier this season.
