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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- Vince Carter hasn't felt better.
Carter, showing no ill effects from a sore left knee, scored 29
points as the Toronto Raptors snapped the Boston Celtics' six-game
winning streak with a 110-98 win Monday night.
|  | | Toronto's Antonio Davis grabs a first-half rebound over Boston's Mark Blount. |
"The knee felt better than ever today," said Carter, who
didn't hesitate on his drives and shot 10-for-17 from the field. "I
thought I would take advantage of it as long as it was going to get
me through the game. I was happy. I don't know what it's from, what
happened or what I did. I just felt good today."
Carter has missed seven games because of the knee injury and has
been tentative in case it gets aggravated further. On Saturday
against Minnesota he sat out the fourth quarter.
"We had a difficult time trapping Vince Carter," Boston coach
Jim O'Brien said. "He has the quickest first step I've ever seen.
We lost to a better basketball team."
When Carter ran into foul trouble in the third quarter he rode a
stationary bike in a back room to keep the knee loose.
"You got to do what you got to do. I just tried to see how I
was," Carter said. "It's boring back there, watching the screen
and seeing what's going on."
Charles Oakley had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Morris Peterson
added 15 points as Toronto ended a two-game skid.
Alvin Williams scored 12 points while Antonio Davis added 13
points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won five of the
last six against the Celtics.
Paul Pierce had 39 points for Boston, but only three in the
fourth quarter. Antoine Walker scored 17 points and Walter McCarty
added 11.
"They had our number shooting tonight," Walker said. "They
did a great job of hitting open shots and scoring in transition."
Toronto led for most of the game, but Pierce kept the Celtics in
it with his midrange jumper, scoring 17 of Boston's 23 points in
the third to keep the deficit to 84-70.
"It's not about a one-on-one matchup with Vince," Pierce said.
"We lost this one and we just have to put it behind us."
The Celtics, who are battling Indiana and Cleveland for the
final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, lacked scoring punch
outside of Pierce.
"We were able to get a handle on one of them and that was
key," said Davis of the Pierce-Walker scoring threat. "We haven't
been able to sustain a high level for 48 minutes and we're starting
to do that."
Oakley had a hot hand with his outside shooting in the fourth as
the Raptors opened a 21-point lead. Walker hit a pair of
three-pointers to make it 98-86 with 5:45 left, but Williams picked
off a bad pass from Chris Carr for a breakaway layup to make it
104-86.
Carter then hit a 3-pointer with 2:25 left to put Boston behind
107-86.
"We're getting to that point where we're starting to feel good
out there," Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens said.
The Raptors opened an early lead, 52-39, after going on a 13-1
run midway through the second quarter, highlighted by a nice
alley-oop pass from Del Curry to Keon Clark. Oakley ended the half
on a driving layup to give Toronto a 56-47 lead.
"Early in the season Vince was carrying the load," Williams
said. "Now we're playing better and feeling more confident."
Game notes
Boston's winning streak was its longest since 1994-95. ....
Raptor Mamadou N'diaye made his NBA debut late in the fourth
quarter. ... Toronto's last game before the All-Star break is
Thursday against Denver, which will mark the return of recently
traded Kevin Willis. ... Boston's Randy Brown (hyperextended left
knee) did not play. ... Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado and
Gervase Peterson of the original "Survivor" were courtside. ...
Toronto won the season series 3-1.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
Slam dunk participants selected; Carter out
RECAPS
Philadelphia 99
Denver 80
Toronto 110
Boston 98
Dallas 91
Atlanta 81
Houston 100
New York 86
San Antonio 109
Golden State 85
Seattle 95
Vancouver 82
LA Clippers 102
Chicago 82
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
Vince Carter Official Site
Mark Jackson Official Site
Lenny Wilkens Official Site
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