TORONTO - Midway through the second quarter of the Toronto Raptors' season-opener, Jose Calderon threw up a high looping pass to Chris Bosh that the all-star forward finished with a resounding dunk.
The two-pronged point guard tandem of Calderon and T.J. Ford wanted to set the tone for the new season. They did just that as the Raptors began their quest for a second straight Atlantic Division title Wednesday with a 106-97 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
"T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon did great," said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. "If you look at their stat line, it was unbelievable."
Ford had 14 points and 12 assists, while Calderon had 13 points and four assists. They each had just one turnover.
"I think that's how it has to be all year," Ford said on guards setting the tone. "When we play well, the guys are able to get open and guys will continue to have that confidence."
Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points to top Toronto in the season-opener for both teams, while Chris Bosh had 16 points, and Anthony Parker added 13.
Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 23 points, while Kyle Korver had 20.
The Raptors nearly blew a 22-point third-quarter lead, up by only eight heading into the fourth quarter as the 76ers crept ever closer. A running jump shot by Iguodala pulled the visitors within 90-89 with 4:47 left.
Bargnani then sunk a three-pointer and was fouled on the play by Canadian Samuel Dalembert, and made the subsequent free throw for just the 14th four-point play in franchise history. That put Toronto back up by five and brought the capacity crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre to its feet.
"They were an important four points," said Bargnani. "I received a very nice pass, I was hoping it would come to me and I was a little lucky."
Ford drove to the basket to finish with a nifty finger roll with 1:46 left, then Jason Kapono, the former Miami Heat sharp-shooter Toronto signed in the off-season, connected on a long jumper to put Toronto up by nine, and the Raptors' held on for a season-opening win.
"We've got stuff we want to prove to ourselves," Ford said. "We want to prove that we are a good basketball team, we are the division champions, and we're going to carry ourselves that way."
Ford and Calderon ran the offence with precision, picking up where they left off last season.
"We're great partners and we just try to play our game," Calderon said. "The two of us, we look good out there. I'm happy when we play like we did tonight, and I think (Ford) thinks the same way."
Bosh had a decent night considering a knee injury limited him to 15 minutes over the final two pre-season games combined, and kept him out of the previous three games completely.
"It felt good to be back out there, but I'm not up to 30 minutes a game yet, so I just have to be patient with the whole situation," said Bosh.
With Bargnani leading the way, the Raptors showed off their offensive prowess, shooting 49 per cent.
But while Mitchell's stressed rebounding throughout the pre-season, the Sixers won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Toronto 47-35 and grabbing a couple of key boards in the final few minutes.
The Sixers shot 46 per cent on the night.
"We put ourselves in such a hole down 22 points," said Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks. "Toronto is a good basketball team the way they spread the floor and kick the ball to different players."
Dalembert, a Montreal native, finished with four points and six rebounds. The Sixers centre was had played just one pre-season game because of a stress fracture in his foot.
Toronto came out strong, committing just a single turnover in the first quarter, and taking an eight-point lead off a basket by Kapono midway through the frame. But the Sixers held Toronto to just a field goal in the final 3:14 and the Raptors had a narrow 24-22 lead heading into the second.
Both teams connected on 67 per cent of its shots in a second quarter shootout, but Toronto managed to put some distance on the Sixers with a 17-4 run to lead 58-50 at halftime.
Bargnani had seven points in the third, including a layup with 6:04 left in the quarter that gave Toronto a 22-point lead. The Sixers outscored Toronto 12-4 to the end of the quarter cutting the Raptors' lead to 81-67 heading into the fourth.
The Raptors face two more Atlantic Division foes in their next two games. They'll travel to New Jersey to play the Nets on Friday, then host the revamped Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Notes: The Raptors handed out several awards before the game: Bosh for all-NBA second team, and Jorge Garbajosa and Bargnani as all-rookie first team. Mitchell was honoured for being named The Sporting News NBA coach of the year, and GM Bryan Colangelo as NBA executive of the year. . . A vocal group of Toronto FC fans occupied a section of the arena.
