Nets drop Raptors, stay in playoff hunt
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-16 11:24

Vince Carter ignored the boos and scored 39 points in his first game in Toronto since being traded, and the New Jersey Nets kept their playoff hopes alive by coming back from a 14-point halftime deficit for a 101-90 victory over the Raptors on Friday night.

New Jersey Nets guard Vince Carter pumps his fist after the Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 101-90 in NBA action in Toronto on Friday April 15, 2005. [AP]

Fans booed Carter from the moment stepped on the court, heckled him during the U.S. national anthem and jeered every time he touched the ball.

Additional security guards were posted by the Nets bench to protect Carter, who was once beloved but now reviled because he demanded a trade and acknowledged he didn't push himself as hard as he should have in Toronto.

The jeering was far more sustained and louder than ex-Raptors Tracy McGrady and Damon Stoudamire received when they returned.

"I never bailed on the city," said Carter, who demanded out less than halfway into a six-year, $94 million contract.

Carter went 15-for-26 from the field. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists, and his four free throws in the final 1:23 put the game away.

Jason Kidd added 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nets, who began the day two games behind Cleveland and Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. New Jersey has three games left.

Jalen Rose had 20 points for the lottery-bound Raptors.

Fans also brought signs mocking Carter, and they chanted his name derisively. One even brought crutches, wore a Carter jersey and had his head heavily bandaged. Others wore baby bibs with the No. 15 written on the front.

"It wasn't that bad, believe it or not," Carter said in a postgame television interview. "You let them get in your head, it's going to mess your head up. I stayed focused and made sure in the third quarter I had a better start."

New Jersey trailed by 14 at the half, but Carter scored 14 as New Jersey went on a 17-4 run to give the Nets a four-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Carter had 24 points in the second half, including 17 in the third quarter.

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