Jose Calderon’s return has given the Toronto Raptors a boost. The spark Devin Harris gave the New Jersey Nets, meanwhile, only lasted two games.
In a matchup of point guards with distinct styles, Calderon and the Raptors kick off a four-game homestand against Harris and the Nets on Friday night.
With Calderon out for two games due to a sore right hamstring, Toronto (6-5) committed 44 turnovers. Those were the only two contests in which the Raptors have committed 20 or more turnovers this season.
Calderon returned to the lineup Wednesday night, posting seven assists with one turnover as Toronto beat Miami 101-95. The Raptors finished with 13 turnovers.
“He’s been with this group for a while,” Toronto forward Chris Bosh said. “He knows how to get the ball where it’s supposed to be.”
The fourth-year point guard is a steady influence on the offense, averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 assists in nine games. He helped give three of his teammates 15 attempts or more from the field Wednesday.
“When we get guys getting 15-17 shots it just makes us a good basketball team,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. “It means we’re moving the basketball, a lot of people are getting touches.”
Calderon did an excellent job of setting up shots on the perimeter, and the Raptors went 8-for-8 from 3-point range in the second half. Toronto has made 40.2 percent of its shots from beyond the arc on the season.
Andrea Bargnani went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 25 points, Jermaine O’Neal added 16 points and Bosh had 15. It was somewhat of a subpar game for Bosh, who averaged 32.3 points in his previous three contests.
After playing seven of their first 11 games on the road, the Raptors are opening a four-game homestand. They are 2-2 at Air Canada Centre this season, but have won four straight there against New Jersey (4-6) since a 105-104 loss on Jan. 8, 2006.
The Nets had lost two straight road games before Harris had 33 points and 10 assists in a 119-107 win in Atlanta on Saturday night. He had missed three games with an ankle injury before returning to lead New Jersey to a home-and-home sweep of the Hawks, finishing with at least 30 points and eight assists in each game.
On Tuesday night, Harris had 23 points but committed five turnovers and had just four assists in a 106-82 loss to Cleveland. It was the Nets’ largest margin of defeat this season.
Harris was the leading scorer on a team that shot 36.7 percent, including 2-for-14 from 3-point range. Vince Carter was held to 12 points, shooting 3-of-12 from the field after averaging 27.7 points in his previous three games.
Rookie center Brook Lopez filled the secondary scoring role with Carter struggling, posting 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lopez, the 10th overall pick in the draft, has started three straight games, averaging 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds.
“I kind of got comfortable,” Lopez told the Nets’ official Web site “I wasn’t really as energized. I’ve got to constantly be hitting the glass to be effective. That’s one of the reasons these guys drafted me. I want to bring energy and hit the glass and I wasn’t doing that.”
Toronto went 3-1 against New Jersey last season, holding the Nets to 86.0 points per game.
