TORONTO (AP) – Chris Childs couldn't sleep, but it didn't matter. He was ready for the New York Knicks.

Since acquiring Childs from New York last month, the Toronto Raptors are rolling.

They won their fifth straight Sunday, with Vince Carter scoring 25 points in a 98-88 victory over a Knicks team that again played without Marcus Camby.

The teams met for the first time since exchanging point guards at the Feb. 22 trade deadline.

Childs had 12 points, three assists and two turnovers. Mark Jackson didn't play in the fourth quarter for New York. He finished with just four points, three assists and two turnovers.

Six Raptors finished in double figures. Davis scored 17 and Morris Peterson, Charles Oakley and Keon Clark each had 10.

"It would be nice to face them in the playoffs," Childs said. "It would be something, when it's all on the line, to line up against those guys and go to war. I like our chances."

Latrell Sprewell scored 27 for the Knicks, who have lost six straight regular season games against Toronto.

The Knicks, who have lost seven straight on the road, were hurt by the absence of their center. Camby missed his second straight game because of back spasms.

"Bottom line is, we didn't get the stops we needed," Sprewell said. "And I mentioned this to the guys in the shower. We made runs today, but there was no excitement there. There was no chest bumping or high-fives. There was no passion, and we need that."

The Raptors are 1½ games behind the Knicks for fourth place and homecourt advantage in the first round. New York swept the Raptors in the first round of last season's playoffs.

Childs, who spent 5½ inconsistent seasons with New York, glared at the Knicks' bench after giving Toronto a 17-point lead with a layup with 7:20 remaining.

"Spree played great today. He's always had the killer's mentality, but I wasn't going to let us lose," Childs said. "Once you have them down, and they're out of breath, you have to step on their throat and put them to sleep."

New York closed within six points on Charlie Ward's layup with 59 seconds left, but Toronto's Alvin Williams made two free throws with 24 seconds left. Childs made two more with nine seconds on the clock.

"Chris had the last laugh today," Sprewell said. "He did some nice things for them."

Game notes
The Raptors are 5-1 since the trade deadline. Toronto also acquired forward Jerome Williams from Detroit. ... Toronto's Antonio Davis received a flagrant foul for throwing a punch at New York's Kurt Thomas in the second quarter. Davis hyperextended his left elbow while guarding Thomas in the first quarter. ... The Knicks activated center Travis Knight from the injured list and placed guard Rick Brunson on the injured list. ... Camby averaged 13.8 points and 15.3 rebounds in his last eight games. He has missed 14 games this season.

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