<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>This Raptor loss probably came when the NBA schedule was released last summer. Fourth game in five nights out west, the last game before the Christmas break against the well-rested Phoenix Suns? The impressive thing was that the Raptors hung around as long as they did. Eventually, though, talent and rest won out as the Suns rolled to a 122-103 victory that ends Toronto's four-game pre-Christmas road trip at 1-3 and sends them into the break on a three-game losing streak and just one game over .500. On a night when Chris Bosh had a career game and Sam Mitchell finally decided that Andrea Bargnani is his starting centre come what may, the Raptors stuck around into the third quarter before the grind of the trip caught up with them. "I'm not going to talk about the NBA schedule because everybody plays the same schedule," said Mitchell. "They beat us, and they're a better team than us right now." Steve Nash, who has never lost a game to the Raptors since he joined the Suns, dished out 16 assists – more than the entire Toronto team had – as the other four Phoenix starters all scored in double figures. And do what he could, Bosh couldn't beat back that effort on his own. Bosh, who had 26 points a night earlier in Seattle, had a career-high 42 last night, including 22 from the free-throw line, while also grabbing 13 rebounds. But no one really came to aid him, outside of Jose Calderon, who managed to score 15 but was held to just four assists. Bargnani, looking more comfortable as a starter than he has looked as a backup, managed to score 13 points – his biggest offensive output in December – but most important was the fact he played 30 minutes.</div> The Toronto Star
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>There are signs in and around Phoenix for places like Paradise Valley. There's a road called Carefree Highway. All of this is in the Valley of the Sun, which never seems more welcoming than this time of year, with its pristine winter weather. But as far the Toronto Raptors are concerned, they might as well go to the desert to die. They were handled easily, 122-103, by Steve Nash and his Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, even with an unexpected return of Andrea Bargnani to the starting lineup, wasting a career night by Chris Bosh along the way. Nash carved the Raptors with 16 assists, but the dagger might have been the offensive rebound he grabbed among three taller Raptors which he pitched out to Leandro Barbosa for a three-pointer that gave the Suns a 19-point lead with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter, more than they ever needed. It marked the fourth straight season the Suns have swept the Raptors in their home-and-home season series. It was also the third straight loss for the Raptors (15-14), who have a six-day break before resuming their seven-game road trip in San Antonio on Dec. 28th. Toronto did show some signs of life at the end of a rather nasty four-games-in-five-nights road swing, which culminated with a late-night flight from Seattle only to play the high-octane Suns on the second night of a back-to-back. It was a five-point game at the half and the Raptors were within nine midway through the third before the Suns went on a 12-2 run culminated by Barbosa's triple. Chris Bosh muscled his way to career-highs in points (42) thanks to a career-high in free throws made (22) as he worked his way to the line 24 times as he led both teams in scoring grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as well. "Lately I've been trying to get more aggressive," Bosh said. "The free-throw line is my friend, so I'm always trying to be aggressive and attack the rim."</div> The Globe & Mail
