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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) – Just like last year, the New York Knicks turned
Game 1 into a miserable experience for Vince Carter.
|  | | Mark Jackson has a shot blocked by Vince Carter, but it's the Knicks who would have the last laugh. |
Kurt Thomas knocked Carter to the floor the first time he went
to the basket, setting the tone for a frustrating afternoon for
Carter as the Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 92-85 Sunday.
"My mom always told me there'll be days like this," Carter
said after the game. "As a matter of fact, she just told me
that."
Carter, who shot 3-for-20 last year in the first playoff game of
his career, finished 5-for-22 from the field for 13 points. He did
not score over the final 8 1/2 minutes as the Knicks controlled the
fourth quarter and eventually pulled away in the final minute.
Thomas had a superb game with 17 points and 13 rebounds in his
first career playoff start. Allan Houston scored 23 for New York
and Latrell Sprewell added 13 in addition to playing strong defense
on Carter.
The Knicks outrebounded the Raptors, repeatedly attacked their
weakest defenders and handled themselves like playoff veterans down
the stretch.
Game 2 in the best-of-5 series will be Thursday night, giving
Carter almost four full days to ponder why this year's Game 1
looked so much like last year's.
"A lot of times he was rushing," teammate Chris Childs said.
"He was out to prove a point that last year was going to be
totally different. It's only natural for an athlete to want to do
that."
Marcus Camby led the Knicks with 18 rebounds, including an
offensive board that he turned into a reverse layup with 6:34 left
to give the Knicks a four-point lead. The Raptors got within two
points twice after that but never had a chance to get any closer.
With Carter being double-teamed every time he touched the ball,
the Raptors turned to Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams for their
offense. Each scored 19, and Davis grabbed 15 rebounds.
"I'm not blaming this on Vince," Davis said. "It's not about
Vince making or missing shots. We came here as a team."
Davis hit two foul shots with 55 seconds left to cut Toronto's
deficit to two, but Sprewell answered with two from the line to
restore a four-point lead, 87-83, with 38.5 seconds left.
Davis tipped in a miss by Carter with 28 seconds left, but the
Raptors immediately fouled Glen Rice – despite their coaches
yelling not to foul. Rice made both, and Charlie Ward stripped the
ball from Davis as he was about to shoot a 2-footer.
Ward made two free throws to make it 91-85 with 16.3 seconds
left, and Carter – who continually complained that he wasn't
getting any calls – threw away the ensuing inbounds pass for the
last of his five turnovers.
"It is frustrating because we feel we're capable of winning
this series, but you've got to get one first," Carter said.
Thomas rejected Carter's shot on his first drive to the basket,
a block so forceful that Carter ended up lying on his backside.
"That wasn't a block in my opinion," Carter said. "He hit my
head. I was expecting it, I was ready for it. The key question was
can I get up from it and keep playing, and I did."
The play seemed to take something out of Carter, who missed his
first seven shots before putting back his own miss to give the
Raptors a 26-24 lead.
Carter ended the first half with a high-flying dunk with 0.4
seconds remaining for a 44-41 lead, then began the second half with
an alley-oop slam off a pass from Charles Oakley.
Toronto opened a 48-41 lead before the Knicks responded with a
9-0 run, and New York took a 66-65 lead into the fourth as Carter
continued to struggle.
Thomas scored four straight points midway through the fourth,
and Camby's reverse layup gave New York a 78-74 lead with 6:34
left. Ward hit a 3-pointer a minute later to give the Knicks a
six-point lead.
"We were going to give 100 percent no matter what," Thomas
said. "We played great today. We played as a team and finished
well."
Game notes
Ward was booed loudly by the home crowd for remarks he made
about Jews in a New York Times magazine article. Childs also heard
boos, although not as many as he heard in his first visit to New
York since being traded to Toronto ... Ex-Knicks Dave DeBusschere
and Dick Barnett sat on celebrity row alongside comedian Billy
Crystal.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
Jeers for Ward's comments turned to cheers for his play
RECAPS
New York 92
Toronto 85
Phoenix 86
Sacramento 83
LA Lakers 106
Portland 93
Milwaukee 103
Orlando 90
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Despite struggling in Game 1, Toronto's Vince Carter remains optimistic.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
The Knicks' Latrell Sprewell comments on Vince Carter's lackluster performance in Game 1.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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