NBA - Raptors, Bargnani avenge OT loss by blowing out Wizards (+ video)

TORONTO (NBA) - Andrea Bargnani didn’t grab many rebounds but he got hot from long range on Wednesday and scored 19 points as the Toronto Raptors won at home against the Washington Wizards.

Toronto, who lost in overtime 108-104 in Washington on Tuesday, returned to Canada and thrashed the Wizards 122-83 to leave both sides with 25 wins and 20 defeats.

Raptors coach Sam Mitchell had emphasized the need for his seven-footer Bargnani to be more of a force on the boards but the Italy national team star pulled down just two rebounds against the Wizards.

However, he was six of 11 from the floor overall and three of four from behind the arc.

As a team, Toronto made a scintillating 72.2% (13 of 18) from long range, with Spain international Jose Calderon (11pts, 11 assists) two of three and former Euroleague MVP Anthony Parker (15pts) a perfect three of three.

Argentina wing man Carlos Delfino drilled three of five from the arc and finished with 11 points, and Slovenia national team center Rasho Nesterovic also scored nine and grabbed eight rebounds.

Allen Iverson had 32 points and 12 assists and Denver (27-18) overcame a 14-point, 16-rebound night from Darko Milicic of Serbia to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 106-102.

Memphis (13-33) might have won had they gotten a boost from their Spain national team duo but Pau Gasol sat out the game again to rest his aching back and guard Juan Carlos Navarro missed all eight of his shots from three-point range, finishing just two of 12 overall.

Golden State (28-19) brought the New Orleans back down to earth in a battle of high-flying teams, winning 116-103 in the Big Easy.

The Hornets (32-13) went into the game riding a nine-game winning streak but their former point guard Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson made sure that run came to an end.

Davis had 23 points and nine assists and Jackson finished with 26.

Team USA playmaker Chris Paul scored 28 points and dished out 12 assists in defeat.

LeBron James scored 17 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter and made a last-second lay-up to lift Cleveland (25-19) to an 84-83 win over Portland (26-19) at the Rose Garden in Oregon.

The Cavs won despite playing without Brazilian big man Anderson Varejao, who is out of action for a month with an ankle injury.

In other games, Philadelphia steamrolled Milwaukee 112-69, Orlando extinguished the Miami Heat 107-91, Minnesota upset Chicago 83-67, Utah defeated the New York Knicks 100-89, Sacramento beat Charlotte 105-91 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-88. 

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