RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- It took less than five minutes for Vince Carter
to put the Chicago Bulls away.
Carter scored 11 of his 26 points during a 4:15 stretch in the
third quarter Saturday night, and the Bulls never recovered as the
Toronto Raptors cruised to a 98-75 victory.
"A lot of offensive frustration set in for our guys. When
Carter got it going during that stretch, we never really
responded," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "We didn't respond
offensively or defensively the rest of the game."
Carter would have been more than enough for the Bulls to contend
with, but Antonio Davis and Charles Oakley came through with huge
games. Davis finished with 24 points, including 6-of-7 from the
line, and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. He also had three
blocked shots.
Oakley got the triple-double he narrowly missed Friday, with 10
points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
"That's why we left him in there," Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens
said. "When the guys told me, we left him in there and they tried
to find him and get him the basket."
Oakley said he hadn't even realized he was close.
"I didn't know about it until I heard the guys on the bench
talking about it," Oakley said. "I'm 36 years old, and I just
wanted to get out and win this game."
Ron Artest led the Bulls with 23 points, one shy of his career
high. Ron Mercer added 17 for Chicago, which shot only 39 percent
(29-of-75). Chicago was outrebounded 44-36.
Elton Brand continued to struggle with his shooting, scoring
eight points. It was his second straight game with less than 10
points. He failed to score in double figures only four times last
year, and never twice in a row.
Brand did lead the Bulls with 10 rebounds.
"I'm not forcing anything, I'm just not making anything," said
Brand, who was 3-of-8. "It's still early, it'll turn around."
Despite Chicago shooting just 36 percent from the floor, Toronto
led by just three points, 40-37, at the half.
Khalid El-Amin narrowed the margin to a point when he opened the
third quarter with an off-balance jumper.
But it was all Carter after that. He hit jumpers and layups. He
hit 3-pointers and made three-point plays. He did whatever he
wanted to, and the Bulls couldn't stop him.
"I hit two and I was just feeling comfortable," Carter said.
"For a while it's just like, `OK, keep going, keep going. And just
shoot it with confidence.' And it was going in."
Carter scored 14 points in the quarter. During his 11-point
outburst, he scored all but two of the Raptors' 13 points. When he
capped his run with a 3-pointer with 1:23 left, Toronto had a 62-56
lead.
"I've had a chance to work with a lot of stars in the Olympics
and All-Star games, but I have never had a guy that talented on my
team," Oakley said. "He is so quick. If people run at him, he'll
just go by them. When he gets in a rhythm, like tonight, it's just
so easy for him."
Davis ended the quarter with a pair of free throws. Toronto
sealed the victory with a 17-4 run at the start of the fourth
quarter. Davis added two more free throws to give the Raptors an
81-60 lead with 8:06 left.
"We were just taking our time and getting the shot we wanted,"
Carter said. "Every time we came down, we wanted to get something
-- get a foul, get a basket, just get something. Most importantly,
we were able to step it up when they were making their runs."
Game
notes
Though general manager Jerry Krause isn't talking, coach
Tim Floyd said the Bulls are definitely interested in Joe Smith.
"Jerry has told me he's tried to call the agent, and that's where
it is," Floyd said. "So I would assume, if he's tried to call the
agent, we have an interest." ... Toronto rookie Morris Peterson
came off the bench to score 12 points in 23 minutes ... A fan in
the crowd had a sign, "No Fuss, MJ 4 Pres."
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NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 126
Seattle 91
Indiana 94
Detroit 84
Cleveland 86
Washington 73
New York 81
Charlotte 67
Philadelphia 85
Boston 83
Toronto 98
Chicago 75
Minnesota 103
Milwaukee 92
San Antonio 91
Vancouver 78
Phoenix 84
Miami 82
Portland 111
Houston 88
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