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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- Vince Carter showed plenty of the flash that's landed him atop the All-Star balloting, but it was two
old-fashioned free throws that sealed the win for the Toronto
Raptors.
Carter's foul shots with four seconds left capped a 35-point
night in Toronto's 100-99 victory over the Houston Rockets on
Tuesday.
"It was fun," Carter said. "We knew this was going to be a tough game because we're both having up-and-down seasons and both needed to win."
Houston led 93-91 heading into the final minute when Charles
Oakley nailed a pair of long jumpers to recapture Toronto's lead.
Cuttino Mobley, who led the Rockets with 21, followed with a miss.
The Raptors held on in a battle of free throws, capped by
Carter's decisive shots that rendered Bryce Drew's buzzer-beating 3-pointer meaningless.
Rockets center Kelvin Cato said that Houston was unwilling to let Carter beat them from the field, leaving Oakley open from
unfamiliar range.
"Those shots were one step inside the 3-point line, and he isn't supposed to make shots like that," Cato said. "But he did."
Alvin Williams added 17 for Toronto. Former Raptor Carlos
Rogers, who scored 12 of Houston's first 13 points before missing
about eight minutes with a left eye injury, finished with 19.
Carter has scored at least 30 points in three straight games for
the first time in his career. Earlier Tuesday, it was announced
that he is leading Eastern Conference forwards with 589,561
All-Star votes, topping Miami center Alonzo Mourning by nearly
15,000 in the overall race.
"It's pressure being called the next 'man,' " Carter said of
comparisons between him and Michael Jordan. "I'm my own person and
I am not trying to be like him. Everybody in the NBA has flashes of
playing like Mike some time, and I'm honored by the comparison."
The teams slugged it out throughout the second half, with
neither able to mount a serious run or establish more than a
six-point lead.
Carter converted a three-point play on a goaltending call to tie
the game at 89 just under the three-minute mark. Mobley responded
with two free throws to retake the Rockets' lead, but Carter's
jumper tied it again.
Cato's two free throws gave Houston its final lead before
Oakley, who scored 10, hit his go-ahead shots from near the 3-point
line.
The Rockets fell behind early and stayed there until Walt
Williams, who has spent most of December mired deep on the bench in
a slump, keyed a second-quarter rally that brought the Rockets to
within 51-50.
Houston didn't take its first lead until Mobley's 15-footer with
six seconds left in the third quarter.
Game notes
It was Houston's first loss to a Canadian team at home in
14 total games. The Rockets are now 22-4 all-time against Toronto
and Vancouver. ... Toronto's 31-point first quarter marked the
third time in the last four games Houston has allowed 27 or more in
the initial period. ... The score on the Compaq Center scoreboard
froze for more than 10 minutes with the Raptors up 55-52, forcing
the court announcer to verbally update the totals. ... Rogers has
reached double-digits in scoring in nine of his last 11 games. ...
The Raptors, 7-6 in December, guaranteed their first back-to-back
months with at least a .500 record.
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NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 89
Minnesota 78
New Jersey 89
New York 83
Sacramento 114
Boston 101
Toronto 100
Houston 99
Denver 128
LA Clippers 105
Portland 94
Seattle 89
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