Big Men Dominate - 93-89 Raps

NBA.com Recap

Player of the game:
Jermaine O'Neal - 20 points (7-15, 6-6), 9 rebounds, 5 blocks. This is exactly the reason we traded for a player like him, and he certainly showed what he can do. While it'll be difficult for him to keep up stats like this for the whole season (mostly in terms of blocks) if he can keep his scoring around 18 and rebounds at eight or nine, the Raptors will be happy, and we'll get a lot of results like last night's.

Notables:
- Chris Bosh - 26 points, 11 rebounds, 9-9 from the free throw line. Bosh had a game we're used to seeing from him. Excellent numbers at a great percentage.
- Kris Humphries - 12 points, 4 rebounds, one steal, one block. Stepped up with a solid game off the bench. Most importantly, he shot 5-9 from the field and 2-2 from the line, and we all know Humphries can take some really "ill-advised" shots, so it's important for him to make easy buckets.
- Roko Ukic - 8 points, 3 assists, one steal. Played a very nice game in 15 minutes, as well as playing 5 more minutes than Solomon. Shot very well (2-3 from the field, 4-5 free throws) and a game like this will really help him in trying to claim the backup point guard job.

Full box score

Stat of the game:
The Raptors got to the free-throw line 33 times to the Clippers' 17. As well, the Raptors made 27 (81.8%) while the Clippers made 9 (64.3%). With a perimeter-oriented team like the Raptors, it's important to pound the ball inside to Bosh (9 FTA) and O'Neal (6 FTA) as well as the guards penetrating (Graham 6 FTA, Ukic 5 FTA, Solomon 3 FTA).