AP News, November 3rd, 2007
Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points Friday night to lead Toronto to a 106-69 victory over New Jersey in the first meeting between the teams since the Nets ousted the Raptors in the opening round of last season's playoffs.
The Raptors had payback in mind.
Chris Bosh had 15 points and Juan Dixon 14 for Toronto. Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker all had 10 as the Raptors set a team record for margin of victory in a road game. Their previous best was 33 at San Antonio on Feb. 19, 1997.
Richard Jefferson was the one bright spot for Nets with 27 points. Nets stars Vince Carter and Jason Kidd had dismal nights. Carter scored only seven points against his former team, while Kidd had two.
Toronto broke open the game with a 17-2 run to start the second quarter and grab a 38-23 lead. Calderon sparked the run with six points.
The Nets, other than Jefferson, were ice cold. He had 13 points in the period on 3-for-4 shooting from the field, including a 3-pointer. He also made all six free throws, giving him 22 points for the half. The rest of the Nets shot 3-for-11 from the field in the second quarter.
The Nets narrowed the gap late in the quarter, but Bosh closed the half by intercepting a pass and beating the buzzer with a shot from beyond the center stripe to give the Raptors a 56-41 lead at the half.
It only got worse for the Nets.
Toronto crushed New Jersey to start the third. After Nenad Krstic scored the first basket of the half for the Nets, the Raptors poured in the next 18 points for an insurmountable 74-43 lead. Parker and Bargnani had 3-pointers in the run. The Raptors closed out the period with an 80-53 advantage.
Notes:@ Carter scored his 15,000th point with 1:57 remaining in the first period. He became the third-fastest active player to reach that level, doing it in his 623rd game. Shaquille O'Neal got there in 547 games. Allen Iverson needed 557. ... The Raptors ended a six-game losing streak in New Jersey, including three in last season's playoffs. ... Malik Allen was called for a flagrant foul on Calderon in the fourth quarter.
