Bargnani lifts Raptors past Blazers

Trailing 100-99 with 8.5 seconds remaining, T.J. Ford drove to the lane before kicking out to the right wing for Bargnani, who hit nothing but net to put Toronto in front.

"It’s just basketball," said Ford. "There’s no secret about it. It was drive and kick - that simple."

Portland had one last chance to win the game, but Zach Randolph’s wild running jumper was too strong as time expired.

Ford scored 23 points, including nine in overtime, to go along with 10 assists for the Raptors, who have won two in a row and five of their last six.

Anthony Parker scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Toronto, while Radoslav Nesterovic and Fred Jones each had 12 points and five boards. Bargnani, the No.1 overall pick in the draft, finished with 11 points.

Randolph had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Trail Blazers, who saw their season-long winning streak of five games come to an end.

Travis Outlaw scored 18 points and rookie Brandon Roy had 16 points, 10 boards and eight assists for Portland, which saw its four-game winning streak against Toronto come to an end.

"We had every opportunity to win the game, but you’ve got to make plays," said Portland head coach Nate McMillan. "We had three opportunities to do that and we didn’t execute down the stretch."

Randolph’s jumper gave Portland a 90-86 with 1:27 left to play before the Raptors rallied to force overtime.

Ford answered with a turnaround jumper and after a Randolph miss, Jorge Garbajosa’s basket tied the game at 90-90 with 37.3 seconds remaining.

After Jarrett Jack failed to put the Trail Blazers back in front, Toronto had one last chance to win it in regulation. With 5.3 seconds left, Ford’s layup rimmed out, but Garbajosa’s put back the rebound as time expired to give Toronto an apparent victory. However, video replays showed that Garbajosa didn’t get the shot off in time and the game went into overtime.

"We thought we had the game won," said Jones. "The refs took a look at it and said it wasnt in time. We didn’t talk about the emotion or anything we just went back out there and played. TJ had it going so we rode him."

Toronto led 25-23 after the opening 12 minutes, but it was Portland that led for most of second quarter. However, as time ran out in the first half, Ford nailed a jumper and Jones followed with a trey as the Raptors took a 52-49 lead into the break.

P.J. Tucker’s basket with 3:43 left to play in the third put Toronto up 68-64 before the Trail Blazers closed the period out with a 10-0 spurt to take a 74-68 lead into the final quarter.

The Raptors’ lead rose to 78-71 early in the fourth before Portland ripped off seven straight points to even the score as the game remained tight down the stretch.

"We let this slip out of our hands," said Jack. "They made some plays at the end. T.J. is tough to cover on the pick-and-roll."

Game Notes

Garbajosa finished with 10 points and five rebounds for Toronto...Jack ended with 12 points for the Trail Blazers...Portland outrebounded Toronto 46-33...The Raptors shot 48.3 percent from the floor, while the Trail Blazers shot 44.4 percent...Portland’s Jamaal Magloire finished with a game-high 15 rebounds.