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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- Nine points for the Celtics and nine for the
Raptors added up to the lowest-scoring third quarter in NBA
history.
|  | | The Celtics' Paul Pierce, right, couldn't get this shot off thanks to the Raptors' Antonio Davis. |
"We didn't know it was that bad," said Toronto's Antonio
Davis, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors beat Boston
93-72 Friday night. "All we know is that we won and that's really
all that matters."
The 18 third-quarter points also tied the record set by Syracuse
and Forth Wayne on Nov. 29, 1956, for fewest combined points in any
quarter.
The old record for the lowest-scoring third quarter was 19 by
New York and Atlanta on April 28, 1999.
"I really didn't realize it was that low scoring," said
Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens. "That is scary. I'm just glad we had
a better fourth quarter. Both teams were trying to push the ball
and sometimes when you run that much, you get careless."
Toronto led 63-55 at the end of the third and extended the lead
to 12 on Alvin Williams' basket with 9:48 remaining in the game.
Boston cut the deficit to 10 on Antoine Walker's layup, but Michael
Stewart converted and Charles Oakley hit a pair of shots to give
the Raptors their largest lead of the game, 79-63.
Boston is 1-6 in its last seven games while Toronto climbed back
to the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 30.
The Celtics are 1-2 since Rick Pitino resigned and assistant Jim
O'Brien took over as interim coach.
"We played good defense, but the problem was that we spotted
them eight points at halftime and that was the difference," said
Walker, who led Boston with 23 points and 13 rebounds. "Tonight
was just one of those nights when none of us were able to hit our
shots."
Vince Carter scored 18 of Toronto's first 37 points and went into the
break with 20 points. He connected on his first seven shots before
finally missing with five minutes left in the first half.
"The third quarter was rather ugly," Carter said. "But we
have to play through the missed shots. One thing we haven't been
able to do in the past is adjust, but we did it tonight."
Davis, who missed four games with a groin injury and came off
the bench in Wednesday's victory over Detroit, controlled the
boards and took advantage of Boston's weak interior defense
throughout the game.
The Celtics were without starting point guard Kenny Anderson,
who sprained his right ankle in the first half of Boston's victory
over Miami on Wednesday. Randy Brown started in his place and
scored six points.
Oakley scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added four
assists for the Raptors.
Game notes
The Raptors obtained Keon Clark, Tracy Murray and Mamadou
N'diaye for Kevin Willis, Garth Joseph, Alex Radojevic and a
second-round pick in either 2001 or 2002 in a trade on Friday
afternoon. Murray returns to Toronto, where he had his best season
as a pro in 1995-96, averaging 16.2 points per game. Both Joseph
and Radojevic are on the injured list. ... Toronto rookie Morris
Peterson started his fourth straight game and has averaged 16.3
over that span. ... Red Sox players Derek Lowe, Trot Nixon and
Brian Daubach attended. ... Toronto has won five straight
against the Celtics. ... Carter on whether he will defend his slam
dunk title: "I don't think so as of right now. My knee is not
where I want it to be as far as being 100 percent healthy, and my
knee is more important than trying to defend my title. Maybe next
year."
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 86
Washington 82
Toronto 93
Boston 72
San Antonio 111
Detroit 90
Minnesota 95
LA Clippers 89
Charlotte 86
Chicago 85
Denver 106
Sacramento 93
Seattle 115
Vancouver 102
LA Lakers 101
Cleveland 98
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
Vince Carter Official Site
Mark Jackson Official Site
Lenny Wilkens Official Site
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