RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Raptors needed something from someone
other than Vince Carter. Alvin Williams provided it.
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Carter had a season-high 34 points, but it was the scoring touch of backup guard Williams that ended the Raptors' three-game skid to open the season with a 103-96 victory over Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Williams had a career-high 22 points, 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors ended the worst start in their six-year history.
"I realized (he set a personal high) but I wasn't focused on
that," said Williams, whose previous best was 19 two years ago.
"The points were coming, the opportunities to score were coming
and we were winning and that's the most important thing."
Carter, who has shouldered most of the offensive load since
Toronto lost Tracy McGrady to free agency, was 10-of-22 and a perfect 12-of-12 from the line. He had 12 points in the first quarter alone.
Antonio Davis had 14 points while Mark Jackson added 12 assists.
Toronto was 28-of-34 from the line.
Carter provided his usual show-stopping moves, but it was Williams who ensured the victory with clutch outside shots down the stretch.
Mitch Richmond led Washington with 22 points while Juwan Howard
added 21. Gerard King had 14 points off the bench. Rod Strickland
had 16 points and 12 assists. Jahidi White had 11 rebounds.
Richmond led a late charge in the fourth quarter with three
3-pointers to close the gap to 92-87 with three minutes left, but
Carter made a tough outside shot and Williams nailed another jumper
to give Toronto a 97-88 lead with a minute left.
"I think we had good play off the bench. I can't say enough
about Alvin Williams. He stepped up big for us," said Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens, whose bench outscored Washington's 46-24. "Someone will emerge (as another scoring threat). If we have to
count on a few guys getting 12-14 points I'll be happy. They don't
need to get 20 a game."
Entering the game, Carter was the only Raptor to have scored at least 20 points this season. He and Jackson teamed up for three crowd-pleasing alley-oops in the first half.
Jackson first set up Carter midway through the first quarter, and the duo had the crowd roaring 20 seconds later when Carter took a Jackson pass mid-air for a reverse dunk that gave Toronto an early 18-16 lead.
The Raptors opened a 14-point lead four minutes into the second when Carter nailed a 3-pointer, but the Wizards slowly crept back into it. King brought the deficit to 67-66 on a short jumper with 3:15 left in the third, but that was as close as the Wizards got.
"Williams was the difference. He made tough shots in the
fourth," said Howard, who was booed when he fouled out with 31.7
seconds left for an aggressive foul on Williams. "He really turned
things around."
Game notes
Wizard Popeye Jones is out at least two months after undergoing surgery on a broken index finger in his left hand. ... Davis fouled out with 3:41 left in the game. ... Washington shot 55
percent in the first quarter and only 35 percent in the second. ...
Carter missed four minutes to begin the second quarter after taking
an elbow to the mouth. ... Howard nailed his first five shots . ...
The Wizards are 8-2 at home versus the Raptors but only 2-8 at Toronto. ... New Raptor Mark Jackson is second in the NBA with 12 assists per game. No Raptor has ever averaged 10 in a season.
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NBA Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
LA Lakers 98
Vancouver 89
Indiana 94
Chicago 81
Toronto 103
Washington 96
Orlando 107
Atlanta 104
Cleveland 91
Boston 89
Philadelphia 84
Miami 82
Utah 112
Dallas 106
Minnesota 99
Sacramento 91
Charlotte 98
New Jersey 87
Milwaukee 97
Detroit 88
Phoenix 102
Denver 99
Portland 97
Seattle 90
San Antonio 117
Golden State 105
LA Clippers 77
Houston 74
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