Chris Bosh has been shooting at least 100 free throws every day in practice. The extra work is paying off.
The star forward made 16 of 18 free throws, scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors snap a three-game losing streak with a 105-103 victory over the hometown Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
Raptors' Chris Bosh, right, is fouled by Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert as he drives to the basket during the first half.
(Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)
Bosh is 48-of-52 from the line in six games, while going 26-for-66 from the field.
"My percentage from the field isn't good right now," Bosh said. "If I'm wide open, I'm going to take the jump shot. If not, I'll go to the basket and try and draw the foul. I have confidence in my free throw shooting."
Anthony Parker scored 22 points, including a three-pointer with 33.7 seconds remaining, while T.J. Ford had 16 for the Raptors, who evened their record at 3-3.
Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said it was a confidence boost to simply win the game.
"Every night is a grind," he said. "There are no easy wins."
Andre Iguodala scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half and Lou Williams scored 20 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Sixers (2-3).
Williams's three-pointer with 55.2 seconds remaining pulled the Sixers to 98-96. But Parker came right back with a clutch three of his own for a 101-96 advantage.
"It's good to see the ball go through the hoop," Parker said. "Defensively, I felt like we did a good job, forcing them to take some tough shots, which they hit."
On the Sixers' next possession, Williams drilled a three-pointer and was fouled by Parker. Williams connected on the free throw for a rare four-point play, cutting Toronto's lead to 101-100 with 21.4 seconds left.
Two free throws by Bosh gave Toronto a 103-100 lead before Williams had the opportunity for a three-point play with 15.2 seconds left, but he missed the free throw.
Trailing 105-102, Iguodala went to the line with 1.8 seconds left. He missed the first shot and attempted to misfire on the second to set up another score, only to send the ball through the hoop.
"We don't have a lot of room for error," Iguodala said. "We have to box out and get our hands on loose balls."
Williams came off the bench to carry the Sixers in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points in the first 5:35. His jumper with 5:25 left tied the game at 87.
The Sixers made it 92-91 on a basket by Iguodala with 3:52 to go, but Bosh responded with five straight points — two free throws and a layup — for a 96-91 lead.
Mitchell made a change in his starting lineup, replacing Andrea Bargnani with Rasho Nesterovic.
"We're not panicking because we're 2-3," Mitchell said before the game. "We're just trying to get the most out of the guys."
The Raptors led 24-19 after the first quarter, a major turnaround from their
last three games in which they were outscored 91-60.
Toronto wraps up a mini two-game road trip in Chicago on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. CT tip against the Bulls.
With files from the Associated Press
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