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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Ruben Patterson brags that he can stop Kobe
Bryant, but he couldn't find an answer for Vince Carter.
|  | | The Raptors' Vince Carter takes it home. |
"I made him work for everything he got, but he made some good
shots there at the end," said Patterson, who watched Carter score
32 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 110-99 victory over the
Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night.
Patterson, who boasts about his ability to stop the Lakers'
Bryant, was as mystified as the rest of the Sonics as Carter scored
13 points in the fourth quarter on an array of soaring dunks,
off-balance jumpers and lay-ins.
"He took a lot of hard shots. It wasn't like he got a lot of
open looks," the Sonics' Desmond Mason said.
Carter hit a driving one-handed shot with seven minutes left to
put Toronto up 88-87. The Raptors were down by as much as nine
points in the third.
Keon Clark, who also had 13 in the fourth, followed Carter's
shot with a jam and two foul shots that set up a Chris Childs
3-pointer to put Toronto up 98-91 with 4½ minutes left.
The Sonics never got closer than six after that.
"Late in the third and in the fourth quarter, we played the
basketball we know how to play on both ends," Carter said.
Clark finished with 20 points, and Charles Oakley added 18
points and 12 rebounds.
"Keon is coming on. He's just playing great basketball,"
Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens said. "He's been with us a little
longer than the other new guys, so he knows where to go and he fits
in right now."
Clark joined the Raptors in a January trade. Chris Childs,
Jerome Williams and Eric Montross were traded to Toronto in
February.
"Clark came in and really caused problems with his size in the
fourth quarter," Sonics' coach Nate McMillan said.
The game was crucial for the Raptors, who came in with
consecutive road defeats against Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers
after winning five in a row. Toronto is third in the Central
Division, seventh overall in the Eastern Conference.
Vin Baker had a season-high 24 points for the Sonics. Patterson
added 17 points, and Gary Payton finished with 19, after tying a
season low in the first half with just two points on 1-for-8
shooting.
"It's very disappointing right now," Patterson said. "We've
been going through this all year, where down the stretch we're up
like 10 or 12 and lose."
Baker had 16 points in the second quarter, leading the Sonics
back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game at 35 with 6:11 left
in the half. The Sonics led at halftime, 52-51.
Game notes
McMillan on the Milwaukee Bucks' reported offer of a $14
million, two-year extension, plus 1 percent team ownership, to
former Sonics coach George Karl: "Unbelievable. He told me that
they liked him up there. Now I know how much." ... McMillan
believes Carter might have an edge on Michael Jordan. "He will look
for the open man early in his career, where what they said about
Michael early in his career, he depended solely on himself." ...
Wilkens, who was with the Sonics as a player
and coach for 13 seasons between 1968 and 1986, had his hands full
accommodating local ticket requests. Wilkens' No. 19 jersey hangs
in the KeyArena rafters, as does McMillan's No. 10. ... Referee
Steve Javie missed the game after injuring his right knee, leaving
Tom Washington and Bill Kennedy to call it short-handed.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 99
Cleveland 84
Philadelphia 108
Atlanta 103
Boston 104
Washington 72
Miami 86
Minnesota 79
New Jersey 96
New York 83
Detroit 108
Chicago 75
Dallas 102
Golden State 73
Utah 107
Phoenix 95
Toronto 110
Seattle 99
Vancouver 95
Portland 85
San Antonio 93
LA Lakers 89
Sacramento 110
Denver 104
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Vince Carter takes the oulet pass and finishes with a jam.
avi: 503 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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