Toronto Raptors Team Report - March 8

(Basketball News) - Vince Carter poured in a game-high 26 points in leading the Toronto Raptors to an 84-76 win over the New Orleans Hornets at the Air Canada Centre.

Morris Peterson added 17 points and Chris Bosh had a strong game, chipping in 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for Toronto. The win was just the second for the Raptors in their last 13 games.

Donyell Marshall netted 14 points and hauled in 14 boards for Toronto, which snapped a six-game home losing streak. Newly-acquired guard Rod Strickland added six points in 24 minutes in the triumph.

Leading by 15 heading into the fourth quarter, the Raptors allowed the Hornets to score 13 of the first 17 points in the final stanza to narrow the gap to six. Steve Smith’s trey capped the flurry, making it a 73-67 contest with under nine minutes left in the game.

That was as close as the Hornets would get the rest of the way, though. Consecutive baskets by Marshall and Carter pushed the Raptors’ edge back to 11 points at 78-67 with around six minutes remaining. New Orleans never threatened from there.

The Raptors, whose recent slide has dropped them to eighth-place in the Eastern Conference, will return to action on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers.