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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F | |
| MAGIC | 22 | 28 | 26 | 28 | - | 104 |
| RAPTORS | 28 | 21 | 27 | 20 | - | 96 |
Recap:
TORONTO (AP) -- Vince Carter scored 24 points, Dwight Howard had 17 points and 12 rebounds and the Orlando Magic won their fifth straight game, 104-96 over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
J.J. Redick had 19 points, Jason Williams had 16 and Rashard Lewis added 11 for the Magic, who have won eight of 10.
Chris Bosh scored 22 points, Jose Calderon had 16 and Hedo Turkoglu scored 12 for Toronto, which has lost four of five. The Raptors are 4-2 at home this season, with both defeats coming against the Magic.
Orlando used 17 3-pointers to beat Toronto 125-116 on Nov. 1 despite playing without Carter (left ankle), Rashard Lewis (suspension) and Mickael Pietrus (flulike symptoms).
Toronto's Amir Johnson scored a season-high 14 points in this one while Andrea Bargnani fouled out with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Carter finished 9 for 24 from the field after going 2 for 11 in the first half.
With Howard and Carter already on the bench, things looked good for Toronto when Lewis also sat down after picking up his fifth foul at 10:27 of the fourth. Five seconds later, Turkoglu tied it at 80 with a pair of free throws.
But without their three leading scorers, the Magic didn't fold. Redick and Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Redick made a jumper and Ryan Anderson hit two free throws to give Orlando a 90-80 lead with 7:19 left.
Williams added another 3 before Carter and Howard returned with 6:05 remaining, but Toronto wasn't done. Trailing by 13 after two Howard free throws, Jarrett Jack made a 3 from the corner before Johnson hit a layup, then put back Turkoglu's miss to make it 97-91 with 2:32 left.
Carter made sure the Raptors didn't get any closer, making two free throws and later hitting a jumper to keep Orlando's lead secure.
Howard had yet to score when he was forced to the bench after picking up his second foul at 5:59 of the first. Bosh made both free throws to give Toronto a 13-12 lead, and finished with eight in the quarter as the Raptors led 28-22 after one.
Howard returned for the second and had eight points in the quarter as the Magic used an 18-5 run to erase a 10-point deficit. Carter didn't take a shot in the quarter but Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer from the corner with 1.6 seconds left gave Orlando a 50-49 lead at the half.
Howard headed back to the bench after picking up his fourth foul at 2:48 of the third. Johnson capped a 9-2 run with a three-point play to put the Raptors on top, but Carter made a jumper with 1.4 seconds left to tie it at 76 heading into the fourth.
Williams made his third straight start in place of point guard Jameer Nelson, who underwent left knee surgery last week and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
NOTES: Magic coach Stan van Gundy received a technical for arguing in the first and Howard got one for arguing in the third. ... Toronto's Antoine Wright (left ankle) sat for the fourth time in five games. ... Raptors G Marco Belinelli (left groin) did not dress after injuring himself in Friday's victory over Miami. ... Bargnani started despite missing Saturday's practice with flulike symptoms.
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GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
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Preview:
STATS -- An injury caused Vince Carter to miss the Orlando Magic's first trip this season to face his former team, the Toronto Raptors.
After leading his new club to a key Eastern Conference victory, Carter will try to help the Magic follow with a fifth straight win Sunday in Toronto, where he played his first six-plus seasons in the NBA.
Carter scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking shot with 2:33 left, in Friday night's 83-78 victory at Boston, a rematch of last postseason's conference semifinals.
"I'm just glad I was able to deliver," he said. "This type of basketball game, you don't want to let down. This is what it's all about. This is the bar. It's great to see we were able to buckle down and persevere."
Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic (10-3), who trail Atlanta in the Southeast Division.
"This is a big game for us, a confidence booster," Lewis said. "We rode Vince a lot tonight."
Carter established himself as a star in Toronto before being traded to New Jersey in December 2004. The Magic acquired the Daytona Beach, Fla., native in a five-player deal from the Nets in June.
Carter got off to a slow start in Orlando as a sprained left ankle caused him to miss four of the team's first seven games, including a 125-116 win at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 1.
Since returning to the starting lineup Nov. 11, he has averaged 20.4 points, including a season-high 29 in his first start back from injury.
Carter has scored at least 20 points in five of his last six matchups against the Raptors but also was a career-worst 0-for-13 in a 101-79 loss for New Jersey on Dec. 12, 2008. He's averaged 26.7 points on 50.7 percent shooting in his last three games in Toronto.
He'll face a Raptors team that's among the worst defenses in the league, allowing 108.2 points per game this season and 100 in a season-high four straight.
Toronto (6-7) snapped a three-game slide Friday night by shooting 57.7 percent in a 120-113 win over Miami to open a three-game homestand.
Toronto scored 69 points in the first half for a 20-point lead at the break, but that advantage was cut to one late in the fourth quarter before the Raptors went on a 13-2 run.
"We held our ground,'' said Chris Bosh, who had his eighth straight double-double. "They cut it very close, but we kept fighting. We kept scratching, and we got the stops when it counted.''
Bosh is averaging a career-best 27.0 points and 12.2 rebounds and had a team-leading 35 points and 16 boards in the loss to Orlando earlier this month.
He has five straight double-doubles against the Magic since the start of last season and has averaged 30.2 points on 53.4 percent shooting in the last 10 matchups.
Orlando' star center, Dwight Howard, has been equally stellar in last four matchups versus the Raptors, averaging 30.5 points while shooting 59.7 percent.
The Magic hold a 5-3 edge in the series since the start of the 2007-08 season and are seeking their third straight win in Toronto.
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Game Notes:
Nov. 22 @ Toronto: Orlando is 28-23 all-time vs. Toronto (15-9 at home, 13-14 on the road) during regular season action, including 1-0 this season…The Magic split their four games last season against the Raptors (2-2)...The Magic are 4-1 in postseason play against the Raptors (2008 First Round)...The Magic have won five of the last eight regular season meetings…Orlando has won eight of the last 14 regular season matchups at home, but lost nine of the last 12 at Toronto…Vince Carter spent the first six-plus NBA seasons with the Raptors from 1998-2005 and stands as Toronto’s all-time leader in points (9,420), field goals (3,541) and field goal attempts (7,944)…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone was the first-ever head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer served as an assistant for the Raptors in 2003-04 and as an advanced scout in 2004-05…Nov. 1 @ Toronto – Magic 125, Raptors 116: Jameer Nelson poured in 30 points, as Orlando defeated Toronto, 125-116, at Air Canada Centre. The Magic were without Vince Carter (sprained left ankle), Mickael Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) and Rashard Lewis (suspension). J.J. Redick scored a career-high 27 points, while Dwight Howard tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Anderson also netted 20 points, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Chris Bosh paced the Raptors with 35 points and 16 rebounds. The Magic made 17-of-32 from beyond the three-point arc and 36-of-41 from the free throw line, and won despite allowing the Raptors to shoot 54.1 percent from the floor.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. RAPTORS: 39 pts., Dwight Howard (@ Toronto, 1-4-09)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 41 pts., Chris Bosh (@ Toronto, 2-7-07)
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