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Friday, Dec. 8 10:30pm ET
Carter scores game-high 29 in return

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Vince Carter made an immediate impact on the Toronto Raptors following the first extended absence of his career.

Vince Carter
Vince Carter returned with a flourish Friday night, with 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Raptors to victory.

Carter had 29 points and nine rebounds in his first appearance after missing five games due to a leg injury and the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors 108-92 on Friday night.

"That's the longest I've ever sat out," said Carter, who strained his left quadriceps tendon. "It seemed like a whole year to me. I was just excited about being back."

Antonio Davis recorded his sixth straight double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Corliss Williamson added 22 points as the Raptors (10-9) beat the Warriors for the fifth straight time.

Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes each scored 28 points for the Warriors (6-14), who lost for the third time in four games.

Jamison, who had 51 points in each of his last two games, was attempting to become the first player since Michael Jordan in 1986-87 to score 50 or more points in three straight.

"I just missed some easy shots," said Jamison, a teammate of Carter's at North Carolina. "It wasn't anything Toronto did different. I rushed it a little bit."

Carter's return was a welcome relief for Toronto, which lost four of the five games he missed. The Raptors also had to make due without forward Charles Oakley the previous three games.

Oakley came back after serving a three-game suspension for punching Los Angeles Clippers guard Jeff McInnis before last Friday's game.

"Any time you lose your best player you feel the effects," said Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens. "He's a huge dimension to take out of our offense. When you get it back, people feed off that."

Carter energized the Raptors' offense. Toronto scored more than 100 points just once (in an overtime win against the Clippers) in his absence and averaged 89.6 points without him. The Raptors also endured a season-low 11 points in a quarter during his absence.

"After about five minutes I settled down and just played basketball," said Carter. "I tried to play with confidence and I didn't think about the injury. If I thought I was hurting the team, I would have taken myself out of the lineup."

Carter was injured on Nov. 26 against Chicago. With him in the lineup, the Raptors average more than 97 points a game.

Carter scored 11 of his 18 first-half points in the second quarter to help Toronto maintain its lead for most of the game.

"I'm getting better on defense," said Hughes, who guarded Carter most of the night. "I was just trying to make him take tough shots. This was a big letdown. We didn't play like we should."

The Warriors tied it at 15 on Marc Jackson's layup with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter, but the Raptors scored the next 12 points to take a 27-15 lead into the second quarter. Williamson scored 10 of his points in the first quarter.

Toronto led by as many as 16 in the second quarter, and took a 57-46 lead into halftime.

The first half also featured technical fouls on the Warriors' Jackson and Bob Sura, and both a flagrant foul and technical on Toronto's Kevin Willis.

Game notes
Golden State's Erick Dampier missed his first game of the season with soreness in his left knee. ... Warriors forward Chris Mills missed his third straight game with a sore right ankle. ... The Raptors are 8-0 when scoring 100 points or more, and 8-0 when leading after three quarters. ... Warriors point guard Mookie Blaylock played under Wilkens for seven years in Atlanta. ... The Raptors snapped a four-game losing streak on the road. ... The five games Carter missed were the first of his career. ... Willis also recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 points. The Warriors have been outrebounded six straight games.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Toronto Clubhouse

Golden State Clubhouse


RECAPS
Indiana 104
Boston 91

Charlotte 92
LA Clippers 87

Miami 80
Atlanta 76

New Jersey 86
Phoenix 84

Dallas 105
Chicago 86

Philadelphia 107
Portland 94

Toronto 108
Golden State 92

Seattle 103
LA Lakers 95

Sacramento 111
Houston 98

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Vince Carter Official Site

Mark Jackson Official Site

Lenny Wilkens Official Site

Antawn Jamison Official Site


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