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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Lenny Wilkens was correct in thinking his
Toronto Raptors would be hard-pressed to beat the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
The Raptors needed 32 points from Vince Carter and a Cleveland
turnover in the final seconds to escape with a 97-94 victory over
the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
|  | | Toronto's Vince Carter (15) sails in for a dunk on his way to a 32-point night. |
"Our intensity definitely wasn't where it should be," Wilkens
said after the Raptors nearly squandered an 11-point lead in the
final 4:55. "You can't let teams hang around like we did."
The Raptors were told before the game they had clinched a spot
in the playoffs Tuesday night. It took the Elias Sports Bureau
until Wednesday to determine Toronto's fate because of a
complicated procedure involving several tiebreakers.
"Nobody told me about it, but that's nice," Wilkens said when
informed by reporters before the game. "I didn't doubt we'd make
it, but now we have to keep our intensity."
The Raptors looked uninspired against the Cavaliers, who lost
their fifth in a row and were eliminated from playoff contention.
"These teams are the hardest to play because they have nothing
to lose and have no pressure," Carter said.
Toronto led 90-79 with 4:55 left, but allowed Cleveland to close
to 96-94 on a 10-foot jumper by Clarence Weatherspoon with 1:07
left.
"We fought back and executed well coming out of timeouts down
the stretch," Cavs coach Randy Wittman said. "Falling behind by
11 really hurt us."
Toronto's Charles Oakley hit one of two free throws with 6.9
seconds left to make it 97-94.
A pass by Cleveland's Chris Gatling, intended for Wesley Person,
went out of bounds and the Raptors ran out the clock.
"I'd like to have that pass back because we played a very good
game," Gatling said. "I was considering the shot, but heard Wes
yell he was open."
Carter made four 3-pointers and surpassed 30 points for the
fourth time this season against Cleveland. Carter averaged 32.1
against the Cavs and the Raptors swept the four-game series.
Weatherspoon had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which
lost its fifth in a row. Wesley Person had 16 points and Andre
Miller added 11 points and 13 assists for the Cavaliers.
"We played well, just not well enough to win," Miller said.
"This has been a very frustrating season of a lot of games like
this."
Antonio Davis scored 19 points and Keon Clark 16 for Toronto.
Carter scored 21 points in the first half, but Cleveland stayed
in contention by outrebounding the Raptors 26-14 in the first two
quarters.
Trajan Langdon scored all nine of his points, including two
3-pointers, in the second quarter to help the Cavaliers pull to 51-50 at halftime.
Davis went 4-for-4 from the field and foul line for 12 points in
the third quarter. Clark added two dunks in the last minute of the
period to give Toronto a 75-70 lead entering the final quarter.
Game notes
Cleveland guard Bimbo Coles did not play due to back
spasms. ... Toronto failed to score 100 points for the first time
in its past nine victories. The Raptors are 28-8 when scoring 100 or
more points. ... Gatling had 12 rebounds as Cleveland finished with
a 50-40 advantage on the boards. ... Oakley led Toronto with 12
rebounds, all at the defensive end. ... Toronto leads the overall series 13-11 and has won nine in a row.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 86
Washington 84
Phoenix 103
Charlotte 94
Toronto 97
Cleveland 94
Philadelphia 90
Detroit 84
Orlando 108
Boston 101
Minnesota 83
Portland 79
Vancouver 86
LA Clippers 78
Milwaukee 108
Golden State 78
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