"He's on Fire!"

Remember back in the day playing NBA Jam with the hot spots? Once you started hitting a few 9-pointers, the game was yours. The NBA still only has 2 and 3-pointers but last night the performance put on by the Toronto Raptors reminded me of someone tearing it up on NBA Jam. Toronto won 114-112 over the Celtics last night at the Garden.

The Raptors (23-19) shot 58.0% from the floor, 71.8% from 3 (15 of 21) and a perfect 19 of 19 from the line. I don't even know how the Celts (33-7) almost stole this one.

Everyone on Toronto seemed to be draining shots from any part of the court, with a hand in their face. Jose Calderon led the way with 24 points, 13 assists and three steals. Calderon made a layup and the ensuing free throw to give Toronto the two point lead at the end. Chris Bosh (7 rebounds) and Anthony Parker both had 23 points while Andrea Bargnani (7 assists, 7 rebounds) had 20 points. Even Carlos Delfino hit all five of his threes for 15 points.

Down 47-45 at the half, the C's played a great third quarter, outscoring Toronto (36-27). The fourth quarter was their doom as they simply couldn't match the Raptors who were scoring on nearly every possession. Ray Allen hit a jumper to put the C's up one with 18 seconds left but then Calderon got the And-1. Boston tried a 3-pointer by Eddie House to win it which missed and Allen missed a short jumper that would have tied it at the buzzer.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the loss. When the final totals come out today, he's expected to be the top vote-getter for the All-Star game. Paul Pierce submitted 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds while Allen had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. It looks like Pierce will make the Eastern Conference All-Star team too while Ray Allen is an outside possibility. Tony Allen had 15 points, four boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals off the bench and Rajon Rondo had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Glen Davis showed off his great hands around the rim as he had eight points in 12 minutes of action.

The Timberwolves come to town tomorrow night, the first regular season meeting since Garnett was dealt from Minnesota to Boston. The T-Wolves are the worst team in the NBA but they just won their second game in a row (first time all season) last night against the Suns so they should be fired up. Al Jefferson not surprisingly has been putting up huge numbers there and Ryan Gomes has been steadily improving as he finds his role on such a young team. The other former C's include Sebastian Telfair, Antoine Walker and Gerald Green. Should be fun.