CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AFP) — Chris Bosh scored 32 points and pulled down eight rebounds to spark the Toronto Raptors past Charlotte 104-100 in a National Basketball Association game here Monday.
The Raptors snapped a seven-game road losing streak and improved to 38-36, moving a game ahead of Philadelphia for sixth place in the Eastern Conference despite being mired in a 6-12 slump.
The Bobcats, whose three-game win streak was halted, still have a slim hope at reaching the NBA playoffs despite a 28-46 record.
Toronto's Rasho Nesterovic scored six of his 14 points during a 14-2 run to open the second half on their way to a 79-73 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Charlotte trimmed the deficit as close as 84-83 on a Jared Dudley reverse layup with 8:56 to play, but the Raptors sank 19-of-23 free throws in the fourth quarter for the triumph, Bosh hitting 8-of-8 from the line down the stretch.
Jason Richardson led Charlotte with 23 points while Emeka Okafor added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
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