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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- Rick Pitino didn't need a last-second shot by Vince Carter to set him off this time.
| | Vince Carter tries to squeeze past Danny Fortson to the hoop. |
Carter scored 30 points and Pitino was ejected in the third
quarter as the Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics for the
second time in three nights, 114-104 on Friday.
Pitino ripped into Boston fans and media Wednesday night for having unrealistic expectations for the young team, following the Celtics loss to Toronto on Carter's last-second 3-pointer.
Pitino and star Antoine Walker weren't around to see the finish Friday. Both were ejected in the second half as the Celtics lost
their fourth straight game.
Tracy McGrady had 24 points and reserve Muggsy Bogues tied a
career-high with 24 points on perfect shooting: 6-of-6 from the
field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range, and 8-of-8 from the
line.
"When Muggsy Bogues goes 4-of-4 from 3-point land, you know
your luck is going bad," Pitino said. "(Toronto) made a lot of
tough shots and Muggsy had a great night."
The Raptors won their fourth straight game to move seven games
over .500 for the first time in franchise history.
"Everybody came to play and hopefully we can continue to do well," Carter said. "We're just trying to make plays and find the open man."
Eric Williams led Boston with 22 points, Kenny Anderson had 17
points and Walker, Danny Fortson and Tony Battie all had 11.
Pitino was given a double technical foul and thrown out of the
game for mouthing off to referee Jim Kinsey with 31.9 seconds left
in the third quarter.
Anderson tripped as he was coming down the court against Bogues, which got Pitino's blood boiling. When no foul was called Pitino
laced into Kinsey.
"I thought it was an obvious play," Pitino said. "You get to
know referees in this league. From the beginning of time, if you
say something to Joey (Crawford) and (Kinsey) you're going to be
out. I didn't deserve to get thrown out of the game."
Walker was also given the boot when he started jawing at Crawford 19 seconds into the fourth.
"If you call it like that it's kind of personal," Walker said. "I can't explain it. Maybe he wanted to kick somebody out and he picked on me."
The Raptors, who led by 16 at one point, let the Celtics back
into the game. Anderson led a fourth-quarter charge and pulled
Boston within 100-95 with 4:07 left on a midrange jumper. Bogues
hit a pair of free throws and Doug Christie made a layup a minute later to make it 104-95.
"We had a tough night in Boston (on Wednesday)," McGrady said.
"We wanted to jump out from the start."
Carter scored 12 points in the first quarter as Toronto jumped
out to a 37-25 lead after one quarter on 64 percent shooting.
Carter began just as he finished last game, by swishing a
3-pointer. He hit another 3 to open an 8-0 lead and a couple
minutes later he made it 14-4 with a reverse jam.
"I told Dell (Curry) and Dee (Brown) to watch out because I may
become the designated 3-point shooter," said Carter, who hit four
of seven. "I feel confident taking it and if they give me the shot
I'm going to take it."
McGrady, who also had 12 points in the quarter, hit a 12-footer
to give the Raptors a 20-6 lead after 6:48.
"We want to really improve in the summer time," Pitino said.
"Summer can't be Margaritaville. Summer has got to be spent
working on your body, working on your game and getting better and
improving. The attitude, the chemistry, the team values are all
there but we got to go to work on our game."
Game notes The Celtics begin a four-game homestand on Sunday against
Orlando while the Raptors begin a five-game West Coast swing in
Vancouver on Sunday. ... NBC has added two Raptors games to its
national TV schedule on the heels of Carter's 51-point performance last Sunday.
... Antonio Davis had a career-high with five assists while McGrady
tied his season-high for points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
Pitino says negative fans hindering Celtics' improvement
RECAPS
Toronto 114 Boston 104
Atlanta 83 New York 70
Utah 89 Charlotte 87
Denver 122 Golden State 88
Portland 101 Vancouver 91
LA Lakers 107 Indiana 92
AUDIO/VIDEO
Muggsy Bogues says the ball felt good coming off of his fingers.
wav: 91 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rick Pitino says it's not Boston's night when Muggsy doesn't miss.
wav: 72 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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