Bosh and Ford dominate as Raptors rout Bucks

Bosh was an offensive force from the opening tip, finishing with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks in the Raptors’ home opener.

Ford, the ex-Buck who was traded to Toronto for forward Charlie Villanueva on June 30, may have given the Bucks second thoughts about the deal, scoring 13 points while handling the point guard position masterfully, doling out 11 assists.

Andrew Bogut led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Villanueva added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who fell to 1-1 on the season. Villanueva left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.

Toronto heated up from beyond the three-point arc to put the game away in the fourth quarter. Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, and Fred Jones all hit threes, as the Raptors eventually pushed to a lead of 105-82 with 3:12 left in the game.

The Raptors rebounded nicely from a 102-92 opening night loss in New Jersey.

Toronto came out firing, hitting six of its first seven shots to take control of the opening quarter. Bosh hit all five shots he took in the quarter, leading the Raptors to a 27-21 lead at the end of the first. Bosh scored 16 and pulled down 10 rebounds in the first half alone.

Toronto’s first half lead topped out at 35-23 midway through the second quarter before the Bucks came back, aided by some sloppy ball handling by the Raptors. A 10-0 run by Milwaukee cut the Raptor lead to 35-33 with 4:39 left in the first half.

Milwaukee’s Michael Redd and Jones traded three-point shots in the last 30 seconds of the first half, which ended with the teams tied at 50.

Toronto opened the second half like it opened the game, jetting out on a 10-2 run to start the third quarter.

Ford, making his home debut as a Raptor, wowed the crowd with several nifty plays, including a body-contorting jump-stop in which he somehow found a wide-open Morris Peterson for a three-point shot that gave the Raptors a 63-54 lead with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

Toronto led 79-75 going into the fourth and opened the final period on a 26-7 spurt.

Redd and Maurice Williams scored 15 each in the losing effort.

Game Notes

This game marked the home debut of Toronto’s new uniforms, with the elimination of purple from the jerseys, which are now red and white... Seven players scored double figures for the Raptors, all starting five plus Jones (15) and Calderon (11)...Peterson had 14 points...The Toronto bench outscored the Milwaukee bench, 35-21.