Chris Bosh scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors held off a spirited Virtus Lottomatica Roma squad for a 93-87 pre-season victory on Sunday.
Andrea Bargnani added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out to help the Raptors win in his hometown. Danish forward Christian Drejer led Roma with 23 points.
Roma struggled inside where Bosh was able to operate relatively uncontested.
Roma's biggest threat came from beyond the 3-point arc, where the Italians shot 12-of-33.
"European teams are good shooters," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "Most of the time they had four-five players on the floor that can shoot the ball well, which is rare for NBA teams. But we knew that. We didn't shoot the ball well early."
T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon alternated at point guard for Toronto, although Mitchell said Ford would remain the starter.
"These guys don't have egos. We feel that, combined, we've got the best 1-2 point guard rotation in the league," he said.
Toronto had 16 players suited up for the game, while Roma had only 11 and used nine.
"Before the game I was worried because we've been having a tough time and playing against a team like the Raptors with nine players is not easy," Roma coach Jasmin Repesa said. "Luckily nobody got hurt. Our goal was to improve our play, and I was pleased with our performance."
Guard Jon Stefansson hit a 3-pointer to put Roma in front 34-33 and Bargnani replied from beyond the arc a few minutes later as the lead swung back and forth in the second quarter. Christian Drejer was fouled by Joey Graham while shooting a 3-pointer, converting a four-point play that gave Roma a 45-44 lead at half-time.
Drejer and former Celtics guard Allan Ray continued their shooting streak to start the second half and Roma opened up a 65-58 lead toward the end of the third quarter.
Jason Kapono hit four straight free throws to put Toronto back in front 67-66 at the end of the third.
After Ray tied the game at 71 with another 3, Kapono and Tony Parker both hit 3-pointers as Toronto went on a 10-0 run to take an 85-75 lead with less than six minutes remaining.
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