TORONTO — Chris Bosh had 25 points and the Atlantic Divisionleading Toronto Raptors gained ground on New Jersey with a 120–109 victory over the injuryplagued Nets last night.

Morris Peterson added 18 points and five others reached double figures in scoring for the Raptors, who shot 59% and moved 4 1/2 games ahead of New Jersey with their eighth straight home win.

Bostjan Nachbar had a career high 26 points and former Raptor Vince Carter had 17 points and 10 assists for the Nets, who lost their second straight without Jason Kidd (strained knee). New Jersey is also missing Richard Jefferson (ankle) and Nenad Krstic (knee).

Carter was booed every time he touched the ball. He finished 5–for–15 from the field.

Bosh also had nine rebounds and six assists. After fans chanted ‘MVP!, MVP’ for Bosh in the fist half, Carter mouthed the words ‘Come on, MVP?’

T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon, Toronto’s two point guards, combined for 33 points and 14 assists. Ford had 17 points and eight assists.

Nachbar and Cliff Robinson made consecutive 3-pointers to cut Toronto’s lead to four in the fourth, but Toronto followed with 12-2 run highlighted by 3s by Andrea Bargnani and Calderon. Calderon’s 3 gave the Raptors a 111–97 lead with 5:20 left, and Anthony Parker’s 3 made it 114-103 with 1:59 remaining.

Toronto finished 10–for–18 from behind the arc while New Jersey went 14–for–28.

Bosh had 12 points as Toronto led 32–23 at the end of the first quarter.

House had 14–51 lead at halftime.

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CELTICS 117, BUCKS 97 The Boston Celtics ended their franchise-record losing streak at 18 games last night, getting 32 points from Paul Pierce and 21 from Gerald Green to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-97.

The crowd gave the Celtics a standing ovation for the final minute as they picked up their first victory since Jan. 5, winning just two of 24 games when Pierce was out with foot and elbow injuries. The NBA’s most decorated franchise long ago broke the team record of 13 straight losses and seemed destined for the league record of 24 (23 in one season).

After the Bucks, Boston was headed on a five-game, seven-day road trip against teams that promised a tougher test than Milwaukee.

But, with a half-filled house winnowed by the winter’s first big snowstorm, the Celtics took advantage of the Bucks’ own woes and rallied from a 15-point, second-quarter deficit to take the lead.

Mo Williams scored 31, Charlie Bell had 24 and Brian Skinner scored 13 with 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, which lost its fourth straight.

Wally Szczerbiak returned after missing two games with a sprained right ankle and scored 14. It was the first time Pierce and Szczerbiak both played since a win on Dec. 16 gave the Celtics a fivegame winning streak; they were 2-25 since then.