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The Rick Report: Game #14
Vince Carter 99 Atlanta Hawks 97
Toronto 7 - 7
November 27th, 2003
In the first half of this "cream puff" game in Atlanta, Vince Carter had me more than a little worried that it was going to be a desultory repeat of the game against Milwaukee. Vince was struggling with his shot a little, looked lethargic moving around the court, and was clearly still being bothered by all the recent turmoil. Although he did manage to reduce the Atlanta lead to less than double digits before the half-time buzzer, a lot of Sportsnet viewers had probably changed the channel by then.
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| The lesson here is to have a little more faith in Vinsanity. Vince proceeded to erupt for a franchise record 33 second half points, scored using an impressive array of moves. Yes, there were still plenty of jumpers, and in a losing game with a ton of missed shots the criticism would have been sharp. But when VC is on fire the nets barely even move as he drops those 20-footers. He finished a sizzling 18 of 28 for the game, with a few nice dimes and a couple of sick stuffs thrown in!
Ahhh, fourth quarter Carter. Dion Glover can't fucking guard him! Boris Diaw can't fucking guard him! Travis Hansen can't fucking guard him! Who the fuck is Travis Hansen? The entire Hawks team in a 5 on 1 game didn't even stand a chance! 7 of 8 for 16 points, including one of the most spectacular plays he's made in a long, long time. A driving across the key, mid-air 360, reverse layup with sick english to score two, draw the foul, and get the free throw to tie the game with 13 seconds left. You gotta love this team ...I mean guy!
Overtime was more of the same, as Vince hit three more clutch baskets, including the game winner with 1.2 seconds left, dropping in a shot that left the net so still it seemed for a second that he might have actually airballed it. That gave him 43 points to finish the game, and the 12th 40 point game of his career. Yes, it's nights like these that keep fans like myself going through the dark, dark times.
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