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Saturday, Dec. 30 9:00pm ET
Undrafted rookie burns Raptors

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHOENIX (AP) -- If Paul McPherson never scores another point in the NBA, he can always cherish a videotape of his second quarter against Vince Carter.

Vince Carter
Toronto's Vince Carter scored 22 of his game-high 46 points at the foul line on Saturday in defeat.

Carter scored 46 points, 20 in the fourth quarter, but was burned for 15 by McPherson in the second period as the Suns rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-103 Saturday night.

"I knew he had two fouls and I felt pretty good, so I was aggressive," McPherson said. "I just had it going. It's one of those nights. I felt like I was back in college again."

McPherson, an undrafted rookie, doubled his previous NBA high with 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting in 16 minutes.

Jason Kidd had 27 points, including 13 of 15 free throws, for the Suns, who were coming off a 37-point homecourt loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday -- their worst loss at America West Arena.

Carter was 22-for-27 at the foul line. One of his field goals was one of his most spectacular of the season, a reverse slam on a lob pass.

Shawn Marion, who had struggled through a shooting slump, scored 20, including 16 in the second half, for Phoenix. Cliff Robinson scored 16 of his 18 in the second half.

Charles Oakley scored 17 and Mark Jackson 16 for the Raptors.

The Suns outscored the Raptors 69-41 during the next 24 minutes after a fight broke out between Tom Gugliotta of Phoenix and Toronto's Corliss Williamson. Both were ejected with 8:30 remaining.

"You hate to see things like that because what happens is the officials overreact after that -- to both teams," Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said. "And it certainly took our momentum away. They're calling every touch and for us it just destroys the game."

There were 79 free throws in the contest.

"I wasn't happy with the way the game was called," Wilkens said. "But what we have to learn is we can't give a team life. We can't allow what happens in the game affect us, and I thought it did."

Robinson scored six in a decisive 16-0 run in the second half.

Carter, who fell two points short of his season high, played the entire fourth quarter with five fouls.

Phoenix led 93-78 with 7½ minutes to play, but Carter led a 21-8 rally that cut it to 101-99 with his 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining. Robinson hit a running 11-footer and Kidd a short jumper to make it 105-99 with 1:21 left. Carter missed a pair of 3-pointers and a layup after that and the Raptors never got closer than four again. He said he was fouled on the first missed 3-pointer.

"We've been saying for a long time that we get in these predicaments where we can't let the other team get momentum and have to fight back," Carter said. "Because when it comes down to crunch time the last five minutes, we've worked so hard that guys are just run down."

McPherson's three-point play capped the 16-0 outburst that put Phoenix up 86-72 with 10:10 remaining.

The 6-foot-2 McPherson beat Carter in the post repeatedly in the Suns' second-quarter comeback. McPherson scored 13 of his second-quarter points after drawing his third foul, and finally left the game with his fourth, a charging foul against Carter, 48 seconds before halftime.

Carter had played against McPherson in the Chicago summer league, and gave the youngster credit.

"That's what it's all about -- going out there and doing your best for your team, and he surely did it," Carter said.

Oakley scored four and Carter hit a 17-footer to cap a 10-0 run that put the Raptors up 35-18 with 9:42 left in the first half.

McPherson scored the first seven on a 10-3 run that cut the lead to 40-36, and Suns were down 50-45 at the half.

Suns coach Scott Skiles kept his starters on the bench most of the second quarter because he was unhappy with their early effort.

"My biggest job right now is convincing all these guys that when they play hard, they play really well," Skiles said. "It's literally that simple."

Game notes
Phoenix's Rodney Rogers left with back spams with 11:05 to play in the second quarter. ... The Suns activated center Jake Tsakalidis, out because of dental surgery, and placed forward Ruben Garces on the injured list (bulging disc). ... Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of Skiles' NBA-record 30-assist performance for Orlando against Denver. ... Davis left with a strained left groin with four minutes to play. ... Phoenix was called for illegal defense five times.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Toronto Clubhouse

Phoenix Clubhouse

RECAPS
Orlando 95
Boston 90

Houston 114
Dallas 99

Seattle 104
Charlotte 102

Miami 110
Detroit 102

San Antonio 89
Indiana 77

New York 88
Minnesota 79

Philadelphia 107
Sacramento 104

Phoenix 109
Toronto 103

Denver 120
Milwaukee 113

Golden State 102
Vancouver 101

LA Lakers 116
LA Clippers 114

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Vince Carter Official Site

Mark Jackson Official Site

Lenny Wilkens Official Site


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