Carter and Raptors Shake Off Slow Start

Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors didn’t let their first two losses of the season spoil their home opener.

Carter scored 25 points and Morris Peterson had 23 as the Raptors beat the Dallas Mavericks, 109-92, Friday night at Toronto.

Peterson also had eight assists and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who lost their first two games of the season against Orlando and Miami.

“We came out emotionally charged. We were back home and coming off two disappointing losses,” Peterson said.

Carter, who went eight for 32 in his first two games, finished 11 for 23 with seven assists and five rebounds.

“It’s just nice to get a win, period,” Carter said. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get off to the start that we wanted, but what are you going to do about it? You can’t get frustrated. If you do, you’ll be 0-5.”

Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki was forced to leave the game seven minutes into the first quarter with a sprained left ankle suffered in a collision with Antonio Davis.

Boston 96, Chicago 82--Antoine Walker had 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics at Boston.

Paul Pierce scored 16 points, Tony Battie had 11 and Milt Palacio had 10 for Boston.

Ron Mercer led the Bulls with 22 points and Marcus Fizer had 19 points and seven rebounds.

Indiana 117, Orlando 107--Jalen Rose scored 24 points, all in the second half, and rookie Jamaal Tinsley had 10 points and 10 assists for the Pacers at Indianapolis.

Rose scored 11 points in the third period, including a three-pointer that pushed Indiana’s lead to 86-75. Two three-pointers by Travis Best gave Indiana its biggest lead, 95-81, early in the final period, and the Magic never got closer than six points.

Cleveland 90, Miami 83--Andre Miller had 30 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds at Miami for his second career triple-double to help the Cavaliers end a two-game losing streak.

Miller hit his first eight shots before missing a jump shot early in the fourth quarter. He finished 11 for 17 from the field, with 13 points coming in the fourth quarter, to help give John Lucas his first victory as Cleveland’s head coach.

Minnesota 111, Memphis 102--Kevin Garnett had 30 points and 14 rebounds at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves overcame their second consecutive slow start.

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but used a 32-9 run that bridged the second and third quarters to pull away.

Wally Szczerbiak added 22 points for the Timberwolves.

Rookie Shane Battier scored 22 points to lead the Grizzlies.

Charlotte 97, New York 93--Baron Davis scored 18 points, including two driving baskets in the final two minutes to lead the Hornets at Charlotte, N.C.

Davis, who scored a career-high 33 points in the Hornets’ victory over Cleveland on opening night, had nine assists and six rebounds.

Jamal Mashburn and David Wesley each had 17 points for the Hornets.

Detroit 102, New Jersey 88--Jerry Stackhouse scored 24 points and Cliff Robinson provided a second scoring threat with 18 as Detroit won its home opener at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Nets had a chance to win their first three games for the first time since starting 4-0 during the 1997-98 season, the last time they were in the playoffs.