He was angry, at himself and the spot he found himself in, and he took it out on the Hornets.

Finding his shooting stroke after four rough games and helping to contain one of the NBA's best players as well as he can be contained, Calderon helped spark an impressive 107-90 win by the Raptors that included some of their best all-around play of the season.

"I've been here for five years and I think everybody knows me," said Calderon, who had 16 points and eight assists. "I played four bad games and there was too many things going on. I signed with the Raptors because I want to be here and that's all. I just want to play good. I'm just working and if we win, we're happy, we don't have to talk about anything else."

Calderon made 2-of-4 three-pointers he took but it was his actions, rather than his shots, that spoke volumes. He was animated and aggressive and when he goaded New Orleans' Chris Paul into a travelling turnover in the game-changing third quarter, he got up, screamed, pumped his fists and it felt like he was giving a big "take that" to the critics.

"That was just Jose, I thought his energy level was excellent," said coach Jay Triano. "He hasn't been playing well and he knows it, but it's not like we're going to bench him. He's a guy who's going to be a big part of our team.

"He doesn't like a lot of the things that have been written about him ... he takes it to heart and I thought he came out and did an excellent job."

As did the entire team in a third quarter that was as good a stretch as they've played at both ends of the court this young season.

The Raptors made eight three-pointers in the decisive third - a single-quarter franchise record - and held New Orleans to 5-for-17 shooting from the field. In all, the Raptors were 14-for-29 from beyond the arc, with Hedo Turkoglu (four) and Andrea Bargnani (three) leading the way.

It was as if all the things Triano had been talking about since the season began came together at once.

The most impressive part of the third quarter might have been the defence. Paul had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half but went scoreless with just three assists in the third as Toronto took away the high screen-and-roll and didn't allow Paul anywhere near the rim.

Paul finished with 21 points and 18 assists, but was really no factor in the second half.

As good as they were, paled in comparison to the work of Toronto's Chris Bosh.

Bosh was perfect on offence, hitting all nine of his field goal attempts and finishing with a game-high 27 points.

And, most important, when he attracted extra attention, he took a back seat in the offence, kicking the ball out to shooters who knocked down open looks.

"He did a nice job of getting the ball out of there and sharing and getting his teammates involved," said Triano.