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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) – Keon Clark stuck it to his former coach.
|  | | Vince Carter shoots over Nuggets center Raef LaFrentz. |
Clark had 15 points and five blocks and Vince Carter scored 31
points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Denver Nuggets 99-92
Thursday night.
"I told Dan Issel, 'Thanks for trading me,' when I ran by the
bench a couple of times," Clark said. "I never did anything like
this in Denver because I was looking over my shoulder at the coach,
and I don't have that problem here. I don't have to worry about
anybody saying something negative to me on the floor, and that's a
beautiful thing."
Clark, acquired from Denver on Jan. 12 along with Tracy Murray
for Kevin Willis and others, shot 7-for-9 from the field and
finished with seven rebounds.
"At one point in time, Dan told me I would be one of the better
players in the league, but he never gave me an opportunity to do
it," said Clark, who is averaging more than nine points and six
rebounds with Toronto.
Clark had 10 points and four blocked shots in the second
quarter. After blocking one shot and running the floor for a dunk,
Clark smiled at Issel.
"I gave him a wink every now and again so he knows what he
missed out on," Clark said. "It just makes me smile because I
know I showed him, and my actions spoke louder than his words."
Asked if Issel said anything to him, Clark said: "He can say a
lot with his eyebrows and when those eyes go red. The more he got
fevered, the better I felt."
Issel said he wished Clark had the same type of game every night
he was with Denver.
"Keon played terrific – that's the kind of ability he has,"
Issel said. "If he sets his mind to it, he could do it every
night."
Antonio Davis, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds, said Clark has
been looking forward to playing Denver.
"It started in practice, he was there early, working on his
shots and making a couple comments here and there," Davis said.
"But he didn't need to say anything. He went on the floor today
and he showed how much he appreciated he was traded here."
Nick Van Exel had 25 points and nine assists for the Nuggets,
who lost their third straight. Denver finished their road trip 1-5,
falling to 7-18 on the road this season.
The Nuggets led by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but
Toronto tied it at 75 on Clark's layup at 10:41 of the fourth.
Toronto's Alvin Williams followed with a 3-pointer, giving
Toronto its first lead of the game. After Antonio McDyess' dunk,
Van Exel scored 10 straight points, including a layup that tied it
at 87 with 3:45 remaining.
After Toronto's Dell Curry made a jumper, Davis made two free
throws to make it 91-87 with 2:45 remaining.
Denver's Raef LaFrentz made one free throw before Carter
followed with two, pushing Toronto's lead to five points.
McDyess followed with a dunk, but Clark made a layup with 1:17
remaining.
Van Exel followed with a layup to cut the lead to three, but
Williams made two free throws with 31.5 seconds left.
Van Exel, guarded by Clark, then missed a 3-point attempt and
James Posey missed another 3-point try before Dell Curry made two
free throws to clinch it with 17.5 second left.
"The momentum left us," McDyess said. "When we came back
after halftime, I lost my rhythm and the Raptors had a good run."
McDyess could tell Clark was pumped.
"Keon played a lot harder. His emotions were in the game. I tip
my hat to him," he said.
McDyess had 13 points and 15 rebounds, and the Nuggets made
seven 3-pointers on the way to an 11-point halftime lead.
Game notes
McDyess recorded his league-leading 38th double-double. ...
Van Exel shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range. ... Curry finished with
14 points. ... TNT's Marv Albert was supposed to do play-by-play,
but he lost his voice, forcing Matt McConnell, the play-by-play man
for the NHL Atlanta Thrashers, to fill in. McConnell had called the
Thrashers-Leafs game on Wednesday, and couldn't fly out because of
a snow storm. ... Davis will replace the injured Theo Ratliff of
the Philadelphia 76ers on the East team in the NBA All-Star game on
Sunday. Davis, in his eighth season, was picked by NBA commissioner
David Stern and will be making his first all-star appearance.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 99
Denver 92
Charlotte 101
Atlanta 84
Houston 103
Detroit 90
New Jersey 99
San Antonio 97
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Vince Carter Official Site
Mark Jackson Official Site
Lenny Wilkens Official Site
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