TORONTO (Ticker) -- Rookie Chris Bosh's best game helped keep the Toronto Raptors unbeaten at home.
Bosh recorded season highs of 25 points and nine rebounds as the Raptors rallied for a 101-97 double-overtime victory over the Houston Raptors.
The fourth overall pick in the draft whom the Raptors hoped would be an immediate contributor, Bosh scored the game-tying points at the end of regulation and in the first overtime. The 6-11 forward scored nine of Toronto's last 11 points.
"I was just playing," Bosh said. "It felt good to knock down some shots and get some open looks."
With Raptors star Vince Carter drawing the double-team, Bosh sank his first career 3-pointer to pull Toronto into an 83-83 tie with seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
"It was pretty simple," Bosh explained. "They double-teamed Vince so I went to stand in the corner, because if I went anywhere else, I wouldn't have had an open shot. It was pretty open and I felt confident in shooting it without hesitating. The basket was pretty big, so I just let it go."
The 19-year-old made a pair of free throws to forge an 89-89 tie with 38 seconds left in the first overtime.
Carter put the Raptors ahead for good, 92-91, with a free throw with 2:40 to go and Bosh hit four from the line in the final 24 seconds to seal the win.
"He is a player," Carter said of his young teammate. "If you are scared to take it, then you should ask the coach not to put you in the game. He is more than willing, he stepped up, hit some big free throws. It was a great game for him."
In 39 minutes, Bosh made 7-of-11 shots and 10-of-10 free throws. He bounced back from a poor outing Friday, when he had six points on 2-of-8 shooting and six rebounds in 31 minutes of a loss at Sacramento. The Georgia Tech product also showed composure with the game on the line.
"I just try to block (the pressure) out," he said. "If you put pressure on yourself, it makes everything else harder. I've been in situations like this before, just not at this level."
"He's poised," said Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley, who scored 19 points. "I looked at him to take that three, and he looked like he knew what he was doing. And then he goes to the foul line and sinks six shots in a row. That kid is poised."
Carter finished with 18 points and nine assists and Antonio Davis added 13 points for the Raptors, who returned from a winless three-game road trip to improve to 5-0 at the Air Canada Centre.
"We're really good at home," Toronto coach Kevin O'Neill said. "Houston is a very good basketball team, so I was happy. We were down eight at one point, they had the ball and we dug in and played from there. We executed very well down the stretch."
Steve Francis had 25 points and seven assists and Yao Ming added 20 and 12 rebounds. But the Rockets could not beat the Raptors for a fourth straight time.
"We didn't start the game right and we didn't finish the game right," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We just didn't play intelligently enough. We have not won a close game in the last four years."
Francis missed shots at the end of the fourth quarter and overtime and was upstaged by Bosh.
"He was lucky," Francis said of Bosh's long-range basket. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."
