RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

DALLAS (AP) _ The Toronto Raptors are used to the walk-it-up Eastern Conference style. But their speedy lineup is more than willing to match the uptempo game favored in the Western Conference.

The Raptors outran the Dallas Mavericks in Thursday night's 109-104 victory as Tracy McGrady scored a season-high 24 points and Vince Carter added 22.

``They (the Mavericks) score a lot of points, so we had to be high energy,'' Carter said. ``We got into it in transition. It was fun with all the dunks.''

McGrady had three dunks in the fourth quarter, and Carter brought the fans to their feet with a highlight-reel slam off a 360-degree spin in the second quarter.

Toronto is prepared to contend with the slower Eastern Conference tempo, but the Raptors clearly enjoyed the open-court game they found themselves in against Dallas.

``We can be that type of team,'' McGrady said. ``We can do that. We were much quicker than they were. They couldn't match us.''

McGrady and Carter were both energized by the crowd.

``We can both do some things,'' McGrady said. ``When we're on the break, we're some dangerous guys and teams better watch out. We had fun tonight. The crowd got into it and we got motivated.''

Carter also had eight rebounds and eight assists. Antonio Davis provided 19 points, 15 rebounds and strong interior defense to help the Raptors win their third straight and fourth in five games. Charles Oakley and Doug Christie each added 14 points for Toronto.

The high-wire act was fun for the fans, but Raptors coach Butch Carter said Davis was equally critical.

``Antonio Davis is the biggest difference in the Eastern Conference,'' Butch Carter said. ``Without him, I don't know where we'd be. He's doing this every night.''

Dirk Nowitzki scored a career-high 32 points and Cedric Ceballos had 26 for the Mavericks, who've lost three in a row and seven of eight. Dallas has dropped its last five at home.

The Mavericks, who trailed by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, got as close as 101-98 on Nowitzki's three-point play with 1:05 left. Ceballos could have gotten Dallas even closer, but missed an open layup with 40 seconds left.

Muggsy Bogues made six free throws and Davis two in the final 34 seconds to close out the Mavericks.

Michael Finley, Dallas' top scorer, finished with only 14 points (8.7 under his average) and fouled out with 9:33 remaining.

``I play Mike the whole game almost every night, and he leads the league in minutes,'' Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. ``Without him, we just crumbled.''

McGrady shot 10-for-16 and had 11 rebounds, while Carter was 10-for-20 from the field. Oakley grabbed 11 rebounds to complete his second double-double of the season.

Toronto started the fourth quarter with a 16-6 run for a 93-82 edge. But Dallas answered with an 8-0 spurt capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Ceballos and Nowitzki to trim the deficit to 93-90 with 3:43 to play.

Dunks by Davis on consecutive possessions pushed the Raptors' lead to 97-90.

Notes: Toronto held a 54-34 rebounding advantage. ... The Raptors lead the series 5-2. ... In the fourth quarter, Nowitzki had 14 points and was perfect on three 3-pointers. ... Dallas opened with a three-guard lineup and small forward Nowitzki at center. The Mavericks have used 14 different lineups already this season. ... Erick Strickland started in the Dallas backcourt after missing 14 straight games with a shoulder injury.