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Friday, Dec. 15 8:30pm ET
Carter may not play vs. Lakers

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Milwaukee Bucks took advantage of Vince Carter not being on the court in the second half, and hung on for their fourth straight victory.

"When he went down, it helped us," Glenn Robinson said after he scored 31 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. "But, they didn't give up though. We had to play good basketball to beat them."

Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens said it was his decision to sit Carter late in the third to rest his sore left knee after turning in a strong performance against the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

"I just took a precaution," Wilkens said. "He bumped it. His knee was a little sore. He wanted to play, but I decided I'd try him a little bit and it didn't look like we were making progress getting back into the game, so I decided I'd sit him down. We've got a game Sunday."

Carter, who scored 15 points, said it will be a game-time decision if he plays against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Against the Bucks, Carter thought his teammates did well even with him on the bench icing his left knee.

"We still played very well and had a chance to win," he said. "We just didn't knock down the shots when we needed them."

While the Raptors had trouble connecting down the stretch, Robinson didn't.

He shot 3-of-5 from the floor and sank all six of his free throws in the fourth to help extend the Bucks' winning streak to four games, the team's best in two seasons under George Karl.

The Raptors cut the Bucks lead to five points six times in the final nine minutes, but almost everytime Robinson was there to answer with either a clutch basket or pressure free throw.

"I'm in a pretty good rhythm right now," said Robinson who shot 12-of-22 and grabbed seven rebounds. "I think our team is in a good rhythm. We just want to keep it going."

Ray Allen scored 14 points, while Robinson had 12 of his in the fourth quarter, as the Bucks (12-11) moved above .500 for the first time this season. After starting 3-9, Milwaukee has won nine of the last 11 games and four straight.

Ervin Johnson, who has become one of Karl's favorite reserves, came off the bench and scored a season-high 11 points. He finished with 11 rebounds and stopped the Raptors dominance on the boards. Toronto had 17 rebounds in the first quarter to the Bucks' nine, all while Johnson was still waiting to enter the game.

Antonio Davis scored a season-high 25 for the Raptors.

The Bucks became the first opponent in Toronto's last eight outings to reach 100 points against the Raptors. On Thursday night, Toronto held the New York Knicks to 68 points, the fewest the Raptors have ever allowed.

Carter, who had a season-high 48 points against the Bucks a month ago, was 6-of-17 and had hit a 3-pointer early in the third that pulled Toronto to 54-51. Wilkens pulled him against his wishes about six minutes later.

A shot by Alvin Williams capped an 8-0 run and pulled Toronto to 80-75 with 7:55 remaining. After the Bucks called a timeout, Robinson scored on a drive and Sam Cassell hit a jumper that made it 82-75 with 7:13 left. Milwaukee never let its lead slip below five points again.

The Bucks used an 11-2 run late in the third and led 72-64 heading into the final quarter. Robinson hit two shots, Lindsey Hunter connected from the corner for a 3-pointer, and Scott Williams had a tip-in.

Davis had two baskets and a free throw, and Charles Oakley added a jumper to put the Raptors ahead 62-61 with 5:01 left in the third quarter.

Game notes
The Raptors' Davis, in his eighth year in the NBA, slammed home a miss by Corliss Williamson with 8:32 left in the third to top 5,000 career points. ... Carter was 5-of-12 in the first half. ... The Raptors outrebounded the Bucks 17-9 in the first quarter. ... The Bucks' back-to-back victories over Los Angeles and Utah marked only the fourth time in 20 years that the Bucks beat both teams on the road during the same season.


ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Toronto Clubhouse

Milwaukee Clubhouse

RECAPS
Cleveland 103
Indiana 95

Dallas 112
Philadelphia 94

Charlotte 103
Washington 89

Sacramento 104
Boston 81

Utah 89
New York 58

Minnesota 99
Detroit 90

Atlanta 85
Chicago 74

Milwaukee 104
Toronto 97

LA Clippers 98
Phoenix 88

Portland 106
Orlando 96

Seattle 99
Miami 81

LA Lakers 98
Vancouver 76

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Vince Carter Official Site

Mark Jackson Official Site

Lenny Wilkens Official Site

George Karl Official Site


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