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Wednesday, Jan. 26 7:00pm ET
Carter scores 26 on 23rd birthday | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- After being clotheslined by Juwan Howard in the third quarter, Vince Carter accepted Howard's apology. Carter then showed how he really felt. Carter survived the hard foul and scored 26 points on his 23rd birthday as the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 120-105 Wednesday night. Carter, who scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Raptors went on a 24-5 run, was fouled by Howard late in the period as he went up for an alley-oop dunk. He made his two free throws, and followed with a 3-pointer, a 15-foot jumper and an assist to Tracy McGrady. He later converted a spectacular alley-oop on a pass from McGrady to give the Raptors a 111-90 lead. "Just business as usual. I just have to go out and play hard for my team," Carter said. Doug Christie scored 21 and McGrady had 20 points and six assists for Toronto. The Wizards dropped to 1-3 since Michael Jordan bought part of the club. Jordan was not at the game. "He can make positive things happen, but it will take time," Howard said. "It won't happen overnight." Howard led Washington with 22 points. Jahidi White and Aaron Williams each had 17. Rod Strickland had 15 points and 13 assists. "Toronto made a run and we didn't go down and defend," Howard said. After being down by six at halftime, Washington went on a 9-3 run to start the third quarter as White scored seven points in the post. Strickland's layup tied it at 64. The Raptors followed with their 24-5 run. After John Thomas hit a jumper, Washington's Richard Hamilton threw up an airball. Christie followed with a slam dunk, Charles Oakley hit 3-pointer and Carter had a double-pump reverse jam to give the Raptors a 73-65 lead. Carter's 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining in the third made it 84-69. It came moments after he was fouled by Howard, who helped Carter up. Carter nodded his head but didn't look in Howard's eyes as Howard apologized. The Wizards showed some heart late in the fourth with a 13-1 run that brought them within eight points. Williams' dunk with just over a minute remaining made it 113-105, but Muggsy Bogues' layup with less than 30 seconds to go clinched the game. "We let it slip away in the third quarter," Washington coach Gar Heard said. "It's disappointing because we played hard at the start of the quarter." Game notesA sprained left ankle kept Raptors starting point guard Alvin Williams from playing. Christie started at the point in his place. ... The Raptors activated 3-point specialist Dell Curry from the injured list. To make room, forward Sean Marks was placed on the injured list. Curry had 10 points. ... Toronto's Antonio Davis left the game in the second quarter with back spasms. He did not return. ... A snowstorm in Washington forced the cancellation of the Wizards' Tuesday night flight to Toronto. The Wizards didn't arrive in Toronto until 1 p.m. ... Jordan entered the game at 10:07 of the first quarter and fumbled the ball on his first touch. That's Reggie Jordan, not Michael. ... Bogues brought the crowd to its feat when ran length of the court, faked out two bigger defenders, and made a layup in the fourth quarter. ... Toronto's Michael Stewart knocked Hamilton to the floor in the third quarter. Stewart went up for a block and bashed his rear end against Hamilton's head. ... Oakley had a season-high eight assists. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Washington Clubhouse Toronto Clubhouse RECAPS Phoenix 93 Philadelphia 87
Toronto 120
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