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Carter returns to carry Nets over Raptors

Apr 6, 2008 - 4:07 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Vince Carter returned from injury to score 32 points to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 99-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Richard Jefferson also dazzled with 28 points for the Nets (32-45), who remained four games behind Atlanta (36-41) for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference.

Carter was sidelined during Friday's lopsided, 106-87, loss at Detroit with an injured right ankle.

"It's just great to see everybody stick together, play it out and play hard," Carter said. "That's what it is all about. It doesn't matter how it all is in the end at game 82. We just have to play hard and play to the end."

"Vince has elevated his game," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "It says a lot about him as a person; when you look at his ankle, it is very swollen. He had every opportunity to sit it out if not shut it down, definitely take some time off or reduce his minutes, yet he continues to fight. Vince is a first-class person."

The win also snapped a four-game losing streak for New Jersey, which used a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to forge a 91-80 lead on Carter's layup with 6:13 remaining.

"I was trying to take everything and turn it around and make it positive," Carter said. "Regardless of what the record shows, we wanted it to be a positive season as far as our energy and effort. It starts with myself and Richard and works its way down the line from there."

Rasho Nesterovic collected 22 points and 14 rebounds for the slumping Raptors, who have dropped three straight games and 15 of 21 overall.

"You're at that point in the year where you can't make those kind of mistakes, especially at the end of the season going into the playoffs," Nesterovic said.

"We are just in a tough stretch right now," said Raptors forward Chris Bosh, who scored 18 points on 4-of-10 shooting. "We just have to scratch ourselves up."