TORONTO

Bargnani bags 30 to lead Raptors past Kings

The Canadian Press Published Sunday, January 9, 2011 4:25PM EST

Toronto Raptors' Andrea Bargnani, right, screams while driving into Washington Wizards' defender JaVale McGee during first-half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)

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TORONTO - Andrea Bargnani scored 30 points -- including a big three-pointer with 1:01 to play -- as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Sacramento Kings 118-112 at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday.

DeMar DeRozan added 28 points, Leandro Barbosa chipped in with 18 and Jose Calderon had 13 points and nine assists for Toronto (13-24).

Beno Udrih led Sacramento (8-26) with 25 points and Carl Landry added 22 points off the bench. Jason Thompson added 19 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 18 and Francisco Garcia scored 13 for the Kings.

A run of six consecutive points -- four by DeRozan -- gave the Raptors a 108-100 edge with 3:56 to play but the Kings cut the lead to one with 1:06 left.

Sacramento started the late comeback with buckets from DeMarcus Cousins and Udrih before Calderon hit a pull-up jumper. Cousins scored on a tip-in to bring Sacramento to within four points of the lead with two minutes to play. The lead was three when Udrih hit one of two free throws with 1:27 left.

The Kings got the ball back on a turnover and Cousins cut the lead to one on a driving lay-up.

But Bargnani gave Toronto some breathing room with a three-pointer and Amir Johnson hit two free throws with 30.3 seconds left to help put the game away.

At one point, Toronto held a nine-point lead in the second quarter. The Kings cut it to five before Barbosa scored at the buzzer to give Toronto a 57-50 halftime lead.

There wasn't much defence in the first quarter as Toronto went 15-of-20 from the field (75 per cent) and Sacramento was 13-for-20 (65 per cent). The Raptors made their first 10 shots of the game.

Notes: Toronto's Jerryd Bayless returned after missing the past two games with a sprained left ankle. ... Sonny Weems missed his 11th straight game with back spasms. ... Sacramento's Tyreke Evans did not play because of a sprained left ankle. ... The Raptors are home to Atlanta on Wednesday. ... Vernon Wells, Jesse Litsch, Adam Lind and Travis Snider of the Toronto Blue Jays were courtside. They tossed souvenirs into the stands during a timeout in the second quarter.