|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Tuesday, Mar. 14 7:00pm ET
Carter hurt in 3rd quarter, returns in 4th | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- A hobbled Vince Carter saved the Toronto Raptors from an embarrassing loss. Carter scored 23 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter after returning from a sprained left ankle, as the Raptors dealt the Golden State Warriors their seventh straight loss, 85-78, on Tuesday night. "Vince was the hero," Tracy McGrady said. "He wasn't OK. He still seemed to be hobbling out there, but he stayed strong and made some big shots." Carter got tangled up with teammate Charles Oakley midway through the third quarter. He immediately fell to the floor and stayed there for three minutes before a trainer and two teammates helped him off the court. He returned to a huge ovation at the start of the fourth quarter, with the Raptors down by five. "When he came back it was like, 'cool Vince is back' so let's do what we need to do," said Kevin Willis, who had six rebounds in the final quarter. Doug Christie and Dell Curry began the fourth by making consecutive 3-pointers to cut Golden State's to one. After Larry Hughes made a jumper, Carter followed with a turnaround fadeaway jumper, cutting the lead to 65-64 before Curry hit from 18 feet to put the Raptors up by one point. Carter followed with a 3-pointer before Oakley capped a 9-0 run with a 20-foot jump shot, putting the Raptors up 71-65 with 7:45 to play. Carter's final shot from beyond the arc gave Toronto an 83-73 lead with 2:06 remaining. "Butch put me back in there as soon as I got back to the bench. I was thinking he'd give me some time to gather myself, but he said 'Let's go' and he ran the first play for me," Carter said. "They have the confidence in me and I couldn't let them down. I had to give it all I could." Toronto outscored the Warriors 29-17 in the quarter. Hughes had 25 points for the Warriors, who led 45-39 at halftime. "Seeing Vince have a big fourth quarter was no surprise," Hughes said. "They made a run and we couldn't counter." McGrady added 20 points and Willis had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won nine of 10 games. Game notesToronto's Antonio Davis (strained right calf) did not play, and coach Butch Carter gave no timetable for a return. John Thomas started in his place. ... The Raptors activated forward Michael Stewart and announced they placed 3-point specialist Dee Brown on the injured list with an upper respiratory infection. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Golden State Clubhouse Toronto Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 85 Golden State 78
  | |||||