ORLANDO, Fla. -- This looked like an old Vince Carter highlight tape -- just without the dunks.Carter, whose first season with his hometown team has been marked mostly by disappointment, finally delivered the game he had promised, exploding for a season-high 48 points while carrying the Magic to a 123-117, come-from-behind victory against New Orleans.
"That was vintage Vince Carter,'' gushed Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "He was incredible, unbelievable tonight. Most of his shots didn't even hit the rim.''
For Carter, it was his highest-scoring game since getting a career-high 51 points for the New Jersey Nets against Miami early in the 2005-06 season.
Carter, 33, was averaging just 15.8 points going into Monday night, heading for his first sub-20-point average since his rookie season.
His performance Monday, coupled with considerable improvement from January to February, has re-sparked talk that the Magic (35-17) indeed can defend their Eastern Conference title against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"With Vince playing like this,'' said point guard Jameer Nelson, "you just keep getting him the ball.''
"When you're in a zone like this, locked in, you kind of feel like you can't miss,'' Carter said. "It's just a great feeling when you're rolling like that.''
Only 10 days after being booed at home for his month-long struggles, Carter was given a standing ovation Monday, a first since his arrival this summer in the trade from New Jersey.
Carter was stung by a dreadful January when he averaged just 8.7 points and shot 28.4 percent in 14 games. He was the one being blamed for disrupting the chemistry the Magic used last season when they rolled to the NBA Finals, beating Boston and Cleveland along the way.
"That was Vinsanity tonight. When he's aggressive, attacking like he was tonight, it opens things up for everyone."
- Dwight Howard In four February games, he is averaging 26.5 points and shooting 52.8 percent. He hit 19 of 27 shots and six of 10 from 3-point range Monday. Through the entire month of January, he made only 11 3-point baskets. He scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, turning a nine-point deficit into a six-point lead. He had 34 points in the second half.
"That was Vinsanity tonight,'' said Magic center Dwight Howard. "When he's aggressive, attacking like he was tonight, it opens things up for everyone. When he's doing that, opponents have to pick their poison.''
Carter, who was once the NBA's most entertaining high flyer, didn't have a single dunk Monday, but he scored on 10 drives to the basket, helped by the benching of hapless Hornets center Emeka Okafor, who played only nine minutes.
"It's been awhile since I've done something like this,'' Carter said. "The older you get, the more special these (games) are. But I'm capable of scoring. I can still play. We've just got so many weapons that it's not always what we need here.''
They needed everything he could provide Monday. After trailing most of the game, the Magic tied it at 106 on Carter's 3-pointer. They led 111-107 when he completed a 3-point play. They led 114-110 when he hit another 3-pointer. They led 116-110 when Carter hit a fade-away jumper.
"You're not going to see this very often from anyone,'' Van Gundy said. "In this league, you can see great plays, great players every night, but it's not very often you see a performance like this. This is one you can talk about years later.''
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Vince Carter is a great player and scorer
but besides VC last night (02-08-10) another
superstar show the fans why he is the real
deal , as well.
Enter, Pau Gasol last night #'s 21 points,19 boards,
8 dimes and 5 blocks but above all a team-player;
LA beat the Spurs , firm; this is the same team
that beat LA ( about 2 months ago) by 20 points and
missed a couple of players but this time the Spurs
were completly healthy , no excuses either way but
Gasol ala Billups keep been ignored by "the experts"
in fact, he is not even in the stats, even do he is
1st in LA in RPG's with 11.2 and second or 3rd in
the West, plus , plus but Oden and other players that
are "done" for the year still are in the stats ??
Bottom line, Pau Gasol is the best big man in the NBA
in fact, he is the best big man in the WORLD and
the coaches know that , ask PJ, Popovich,Karl, SVG and
so on, the same goes for Billups, the general.
That doesn't say much for the world. Not that Pau isn't good, but todays centers are awful.
Who ignores Gasol? Pretty sure everyone agrees that without him Lakers dont win the ring and most people consider him a elite big man. But best big man in the league?!?!? That, my friends, is Lakers bias at its finest. Gasol's finesse style is great against smaller defenders but anyone his height or taller can shut down his hook shots and WEAK dunk/layup attempts. Shaq threw him around like a rag doll this year. Fact is he is the SOFTEST big man in the league. I guess some people like watching Pau's vagina flop up and down the court
And yes, VC still has something left to prove.
By the way, Billups and Gasol
they are LEADERS , the right kind of;
I only saw the 4th quarter last night, but boy was Carter on fire!!!!!
And the rant goes on, from richard;
Go figure.
Some " experts" still complaint about
Gasol as soft ?( finesse player) so was
Kareem, better yet, Bill Russell and
even Duncan ( at present) and Shaq
being the King Kong ala Wilt but
between Wilt Chamberlain (dominat ala Shaq)
and Bill Russell ( finesse with IQ ) not Kong
I "ll take finesse with IQ all day long.
Better if I were Gasol I"ll take
my little brother (7,1) to the dog
fight, done.
That's why Shaq shoots rocks
when he is in the foul line
ala Kong style.
Just because a player is a "kong" means they have no IQ? Im sure Shaq has the same if not more basketball IQ then Gasol. If your saying you would take Gasol over Shaq(in his prime) then your stupid. Did you watch the 3 finals championships? Finesse worked for Russel because he was taller than everyone else in the league, Gasol is not. Why do you think Gasol and Tim Duncan prefer playing PF then C? They are a tall PF but average center height. Finesse only works when you can get your shots off over top of your opponent, and Gasol cannot always do that.(espeically vs Cavs)Only the most ignorant person in the world would say Gasol is more fundamentally sound then Duncan. That is why there NO WAY Gasol is the best big man in the world, or even the West. HA Shaq(7'1" 500000lbs) and Big Z(7'3") knock Gasol brothers back to whatever SOFT country they came from
I believe that country is Spain. Lol.
But, I agree Jeremy. Gasol might be fundamentally sound, can shoot a jumper and his hit free throws, but there's nothing like a Shaq or Dwight presence in the middle to scare folks. They might not be the best foul shooters, they might not have the best jumper and hook shot, but they stifle the other team's offense, make them change their gameplan and, dammit, they rock the rim and draw fouls on others. In my opinion, the Center position SHOULD be about the toughest. The toughest right now are certainly Dwight, Shaq, maybe Stat and maybe Kendrick Perkins. Give me Dwight any day, I'm sure I can find another big to finesse it up on the other side of the paint.
Howard had a very good chance last year
to show Gasol what he is all about ???
instead Gasol show him ( finals) I guess
he wasn't ready or .....whatever and
Shaq was with a very good team (Suns)
but he didn't even reach the playoffs to
face Gasol ????? go figure.
This season Howard and Shaq in their
respective teams are more ready then ever
to show Gasol once and for all , who's
your daddy ??? will see, stay tune.
Gasol's stats vs Cavs this year.
date=12/25 33 mins 10 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 13 points
date=1/21 39 mins 6 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 11 points
Stats make it a FACT! Shaq OWNS Gasol!!!!!!
and the Lakers
Gasol is faster, younger, quicker
and ala Billups with a high IQ
for the game then Shaq can ever
be or did and did you ever wonder
why Shaq is so "dominant" ala gorilla ?
Gasol's stats vs Cavs this year.
date=12/25 33 mins 10 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 13 points
date=1/21 39 mins 6 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 11 points
Stats make it a FACT! Shaq OWNS Gasol!!!!!!
and the Lakers
ENOUGH SAID!!!PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING!!! STATS DONT LIE!!! etc,etc,etc.....
Gasol's stats vs Cavs this year.
date=12/25 33 mins 10 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 13 points
date=1/21 39 mins 6 reb 1 assist 0 blocks 11 points
Stats make it a FACT! Shaq OWNS Gasol!!!!!!
and the Lakers
ENOUGH SAID
this articles about vince carter, who cares about gasol