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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- Feeling playoff pressure for the first time, a
frustrated Vince Carter had a performance he'd rather forget.
"I was overexcited. I wasn't my normal self," Carter said
after missing 17 shots -- including his first dozen -- as the Toronto
Raptors lost the first postseason game in franchise history, 92-88
to the New York Knicks Sunday.
|  | | Larry Johnson launches a 3-pointer that put away the Raptors. |
Carter started poorly, got down on himself and played one of his
worst games of the season, scoring 16 points but shooting only
3-for-20 from the field.
He also went 9-for-10 at the line, with the one miss a huge one
after he was flagrantly fouled with 40 seconds left and the Raptors
trailing by three. Toronto didn't score again until 2.5 seconds
remained, and by then it was too late.
"My mechanics were not what they'd be in a regular season game.
That happens,"' Carter said. "I just couldn't hit a shot."
The Knicks, after blowing an early 19-point lead, got a big
3-pointer from Larry Johnson in the final minute and wrapped up the
victory at the foul line to take Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
Game 2 is Wednesday.
Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell scored 21 points apiece for
New York, Patrick Ewing and Johnson had 15 each and Chris Childs
12.
The game's biggest shot was Johnson's 3-pointer with 43 seconds
left that put New York ahead to stay. Then came the moment when
Carter, with a chance to redeem himself for a forgettable
afternoon, failed again.
Sprewell flagrantly fouled Carter on a drive to the basket,
bringing him down by the shoulders.
"I knew it was coming, but it was later rather than earlier,"
Carter said. "I think they were testing me to see how I'd react to
it."
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Fans upset Van Gundy
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Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy was less than amused with the Madison Square Garden crowd's reaction to Patrick Ewing Sunday. Every time Ewing touched the ball, the crowd groaned.
Although the victory over the Raptors was not one of Ewing's most shining efforts, he did have his moments in scoring 15 points. Even after Ewing converted a 3-point play with 5 minutes 20 seconds left in the game, the groans grew as he missed a layup a minute later.
Even after he forced a turnover by Tracy McGrady with 4:13 left, the subtle boos filled the air as Ewing started to post up Oakley only to get stripped by Muggsy Bogues.
"Why were they groaning?" Van Gundy said. "Every time he was getting the ball, there was a groan. He's a Hall of Fame player. He's getting the ball in the right spot, and he's hearing groans. This has been happening for two years."
When Ewing was injured during the conference finals last season, there were those who believed the team would not have reached the finals with Ewing on the court.
"Hello, people," Van Gundy said. "We were 8-3 with Patrick in the playoffs and 4-5 without him."
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The Raptors got two foul shots and the ball, but Carter missed
the first before making the second, then missed a finger roll -- a
shot he'd usually turn into a dunk.
The ball went out of bounds off the Knicks and Toronto had
another chance to tie. But Tracy McGrady missed from the corner,
Doug Christie missed a follow shot and New York rebounded.
"When you have great players, and we've seen it on our team,
sometimes things don't go well for you," Knicks coach Jeff Van
Gundy said of Carter. "We know that he is great and he's going to
come back and play hard Wednesday."
McGrady had 25 points to lead the Raptors, who shot only 37
percent from the field.
The Knicks led the entire way until Ewing lost the ball to
Charles Oakley in the low post with a chance to put New York ahead
by five. Toronto pushed the ball upcourt and found Carter in the
corner for a 3-pointer that produced an 81-81 tie with 2:23 left.
There were two more ties before the Raptors ran to double-team
Ewing and the Knicks swung the ball to Johnson for a wide open
3-pointer that made it 88-85 with 43 seconds left. Johnson flashed
his "Big L" symbol, pointing at his elbow as he did in last
year's playoffs whenever he made a big 3-pointer.
Next came the flagrant foul, and Carter couldn't pick himself
up.
"I have a game under my belt, and we have time to settle down
and get back to basics," Carter said. "There's things I know now
that I wish I knew before the game, but I'll be ready for Game 2."
Before the series, much was made by Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy
about the way Toronto had won first quarters of the last seven
games between the teams over the past two seasons. But it was
apparent right away that this one was going to be different.
Carter was 0-for-3 with a foul and a turnover in the first 4½ minutes, and his poor shooting was contagious as the Raptors missed
17 of their first 19 shots and fell behind 27-8.
"They came out like every possession was their last and they
were playing Game 7," Toronto coach Butch Carter said.
Marcus Camby escalated his feud with coach Carter when he made
consecutive shots midway through the second quarter. He glared at
the Raptors coach both times and mouthed an obscenity the second
time.
But the Knicks' lead started to dwindle, and when Oakley and
Christie began the third quarter by hitting three straight jumpers,
it was down to 48-44.
Carter still couldn't find his range, though, and the Knicks'
lead went back to nine again.
"Vince was just overexcited. He wasn't relaxed," McGrady said.
"We were caught up in the hype of it being our first playoff
game."
McGrady and Muggsy Bogues dropped in consecutive 3-pointers to
cut it to 65-62, but New York kept answering and got its lead back
up to 71-62 entering the final quarter. Carter then finally made
two shots -- his first two makes of the game -- and scored two from
the line, making it 71-68 early in the fourth.
Game notes
NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik weighed in on the
Carter-Camby feud, telling NBC: "The idea of a coach suing a
player over his public comments seems unprecedented and
inappropriate." Carter said before the game that his $5 million
lawsuit against Camby "would go away" if Camby publicly
apologized. ... Comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara
occupied the best seats in celebrity row.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 92
Toronto 88
Portland 91
Minnesota 88
LA Lakers 117
Sacramento 107
Indiana 88
Milwaukee 85
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Vince Carter will settle down and look ahead to Game 2.
wav: 156 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jeff Van Gundy's team applied tough defense on Carter.
wav: 57 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Butch Carter says the Knicks defended Carter well.
wav: 54 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Raptors' teammate Tracy McGrady believes Vince will step up his game.
wav: 70 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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