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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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SHOT CHART
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GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- As each successive 3-pointer hit nothing but the
bottom of the net, it was becoming abundantly clear that Vince
Carter was having a special night.
|  | | Vince Carter elevates for two of his 50 points in Game 3. Carter hit 19 of 29 shots, including nine 3-pointers. |
So special, in fact, that it earned him a place in the playoff
record book.
Carter put on a performance that rivaled what Allen Iverson did in the previous game, making his first eight 3-pointers and
finishing with 50 points Friday as Toronto beat Philadelphia 102-78
for a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
To sum it up in one word: Vincredible.
"If he's that type of player that can turn it off and on like
that, I'm scared to see what he'll do the next game," said
Iverson, who could only watch in amazement like everyone else as
Carter put on a show.
With everyone wondering what Iverson would come up with after his scintillating 54-point outburst in Game 2, they should have been more concerned with how Carter would respond.
The third-year forward had what was by far the best playoff game of his career as he became the 17th NBA player to reach 50 in a postseason game.
"I don't know. Three-point shooter doesn't sound right yet. I'm
still working on that one," said Carter, who has steadfastly
maintained for more than a year that he wants to be known as more
than a dunker. "I still want to be an all-around player, not just
get to the hole and dunk the basketball, not just pass, not just
shoot, not just penetrate, but do it all at one time."
Carter reached 50 points with 2:58 left, throwing down his
signature shot -- a dunk -- to give Toronto a 22-point lead. He left
the court to a huge ovation moments later, giving coach Lenny
Wilkens a slap on the hand and then pumping his fist to the crowd.
Carter, who finished a point shy of his career high, tried to
figure out whether he had ever had a game quite like this one.
"Not in college," he said. "In high school I think I had 47, so it was a great thing to be in the zone like that. All the right things were happening at the same time."
He finished with nine 3-pointers, tying the postseason record
set by Rex Chapman of Phoenix in 1997, and his eight 3-pointers in
the first two quarters broke the record of six in a half shared by
several players.
Carter made his first eight 3-point attempts before pulling up
and missing from 26 feet with about four minutes remaining in the
second quarter. Carter had 34 points at halftime, five short of the NBA record for points in a half set by Sleepy Floyd of Golden State in 1987.
Antonio Davis added 20 points and 14 rebounds, dominating his
matchup with Dikembe Mutombo, and Chris Childs had his best game of
the series with 16 points and 10 assists. Carter added seven
assists, six rebounds and four blocks.
"Was I surprised? That's a dumb question. We expect him to have great games, we watched it on TV all year long," Iverson said. "When players get in a groove there's nothing you can do about it. If there was, we would have done it."
Iverson led Philadelphia with 23 points but shot just 7-for-22 from the field and 8-for-15 from the foul line. Aaron McKie added 17 points.
The Raptors sent a double-team at Iverson the first time he
touched the ball, and he immediately found Eric Snow for a 16-footer. But Carter answered with a 3-pointer for Toronto's first points, and the Raptors never trailed again.
Carter went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the first quarter,
then made his first five attempts from behind the arc in the second
quarter as Toronto started breaking the game open.
Toronto led 58-41 at the break behind Carter's 34 points on
12-for-15 shooting, while Iverson had 16 points but missed seven of
15 foul shots and 10 of 14 field-goal attempts.
"We talked about doubling, but when a guy's making 3-pointers it's hard to get out there and double-team him," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "This kid was as good as they get."
Carter started the second half by missing a 3, but Davis dunked
with 9:33 left to give Toronto to its first 20-point lead, 64-43.
Philadelphia employed a full-court press and looked to get out
on the fast break as much as possible over the rest of the quarter,
but the Sixers still trailed 75-61 entering the fourth after Carter
hit his ninth 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining.
Jerome Williams dunked over Mutombo to start the fourth quarter,
then came up with a steal that led to a long jumper by Chris Childs
for a 79-63 lead. Philadelphia pulled within 12 as Iverson hit a
jumper to snap a 1-for-11 slump, but Carter hit a jumper and fed Alvin Williams for a layup that made it 89-71 with 6:06 left to end
all doubt.
"We got outhustled, and we never get outhustled," Iverson said. "I wish I could put a finger on it, but I don't know why we'd show up for a Game 3 and not hustle like we did all year."
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday.
Game notes
The Raptors gave out 13,000 purple headbands to their fans.
Several members of the team have been wearing headbands since the
first round against New York. Free agents-to-be Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams have chosen to stay headband-free. ... Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens received a standing ovation when he walked onto the court prior to the game. ... Nik Antropov of the NHL Maple Leafs
attended the game and was booed. ... The attendance of 20,436 was a
Raptors record for the Air Canada Center.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
Raptors-76ers Series Page
RECAPS
Toronto 102
Philadelphia 78
LA Lakers 103
Sacramento 81
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Vince Carter has always strived to be more then just a dunker.
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Lenny Wilkens was impressed with the performance of Vince Carter.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Larry Brown thought Vince Carter proved he is one of the games best players.
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