Raptors heating up north of the border

The Raptors dropped six in a row from November 10 - 20, but rebounded with five wins over their next seven games. Toronto has won two straight on consecutive nights for the first time since February and opened a three-game road trip with a 103-100 victory over New York at Madison Square Garden.

Leading scorer Chris Bosh had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead Toronto, while T.J. Ford added 20 points and 10 assists in the win. Top draft pick Andrea Bargnani chipped in 11 points for Toronto, which is a far cry from its 2-8 start to the new season. Bargnani averaged 11 minutes and 5.2 points per game over the first 10 games of the season, but has averaged more than 26 minutes and 12 points through the last seven contests.

"I just understand that there’s two people who are going to have the ball, either me or Chris (Bosh) and one of us has to make a play," Ford added after Toronto’s win over the Knicks.

Toronto is now a half game behind the New Jersey Nets in the Atlantic Division despite its 7-10 record. It will resume its road trip against Cleveland on Wednesday before taking a trip to Chicago on Friday.

The Raptors are just 2-8 away from the Air Canada Centre this season.