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Suns continue domination of Raptors

Feb 26, 2011 - 5:02 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Vince Carter scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half and the Phoenix Suns took control early to beat the Toronto Raptors, 110-92.

The Suns pushed their winning streak against the Raptors to 13 games, including seven in a row in Toronto, where Carter played the first six-plus seasons of his NBA career.

"When you come back home you remember spots on the floor that were good to you and you try and get to those spots," said Carter, who was 7-of-12 from the field.

Marcin Gortat added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Suns, who began a season-long six-game road trip that will also include visits to play Indiana, New Jersey, Boston, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City.

Phoenix, after beating Atlanta on Wednesday, has won both of its games since the All-Star break.

Andrea Bargnani scored a game-high 26 points for the Raptors, who were coming off Wednesday's surprise win over the Chicago Bulls. Toronto has lost two of three since the break and is 1-1 on a four-game homestand that also includes visits from Dallas and New Orleans.

The Suns made a deal at Thursday's trade deadline, acquiring guard Aaron Brooks from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard Goran Dragic and a lottery-protected first-round pick. Brooks did not play against the Raptors.

The Suns hardly needed him.

Toronto's only lead of the game was 2-0 on James Johnson's layup to open the contest.

The Suns, sparked by Carter's alley-oop dunk, scored the next 11 points to take the lead for good. Carter scored four points during the burst and the Suns built their lead steadily until Gortat's tip-in made it 35-14 heading into the second quarter.

"They just came out hot and we came out tonight with no energy and they took advantage of it," said Toronto's DeMar DeRozan, who scored 14 in the game.

Phoenix went ahead by as many as 24 points in the second quarter when Mickael Pietrus knocked down a jumper to make it 46-22.

The Raptors never got closer than 17 and trailed 60-42 at halftime. They were within 12 points early in the third, but fell behind 86-62 heading into the fourth. The Suns' lead remained in the 20-point range the rest of the way.

"Obviously we played great in the first quarter," said Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. "When we score 35 and they score 14, then they are playing catch up the rest of the way."

Game Notes

Toronto out-shot the Suns 51-48 percent, but was just 1-for-7 from three-point range and only 15-of-23 from the foul line...Channing Frye scored 16 points for Phoenix and Pietrus added 14 off the bench. Steve Nash had a game-high 11 assists...Leandro Barbosa scored 15 in a reserve role for the Raptors.