"The Raptors will end the calendar year without their top scorer.

Andrea Bargnani, who averages nearly 20 points per game, did not accompany the team on a three-game road trip that begins here Monday night, continues Tuesday in Dallas and concludes Friday in Houston.

Bargnani, who has been bothered by sore knees and missed a game last week with a bad ankle, is out now with a strained left calf, an injury sustained in a game last Wednesday against Detroit."