Raptors edge Pistons

Chris Bosh scored 18 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for the Atlantic Division-champion Raptors, who have won six straight at home, five in a row overall, and 10 of their last 12 games. They need one more win or a loss by Miami on Friday night to capture the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

T.J. Ford and Joey Graham each scored 13 points for the Raptors, while Ford also dished out 10 assists. Kris Humphries had a career-high 18 rebounds.

Richard Hamilton returned after missing four games with the flu to score a game-high 24 points for the Central Division-champion Pistons. Detroit had a three-game winning streak snapped but already captured home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with Wednesday’s 104-99 win against Orlando.

Carlos Delfino scored 11 points and Antonio McDyess finished with 10 for the Pistons.

With the Pistons holding a 13-point edge after the first half, Hamilton looked to take control of the game in the third quarter. He netted back-to-back three-point shots to put the Pistons up 69-58 with 34 seconds remaining in the stanza and Detroit led 69-58 heading to the fourth.

Toronto claimed an 81-79 lead on Parker’s trey with 1:44 remaining, and Bosh followed with a finger roll to push the advantage to four with 1:11 to play.

Lindsey Hunter’s shot from beyond the arc pulled Detroit within one, but Ford’s one-handed layup made it 85-82 with 12.4 seconds left and he also chipped in with a pair of free throws in the final seconds to clinch the win.

The Pistons held a 20-14 lead at the end of the first quarter/

A pair of Juan Dixon free throws cut the Raptors’ deficit to five with 7:59 remaining in the half, but the Pistons responded by scoring the next 10 to open a 40-25 margin.

Detroit led 50-37 at the break.

Game Notes

The season series is tied, 1-1, with one game remaining...It was Bosh’s 10th consecutive double-double and he leads the team with 42...Parker tied a season-high by playing nearly 46 minutes in the contest...The Raptors have played 693 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer...It was the first time the Raptors have won this season when shooting under 40 percent from the field...It was just the third time in Raptor history that two Raptors have had 15 or more rebounds in a game. The last was March 7, 2002 when Antonio Davis and Keon Clark each had 15.