Hornets Stop Vince, Raptors

A distracted Vince Carter played so poorly he wanted to take himself out of the game.

Eddie Jones scored 25 points and Charlotte held Carter to 18 Friday night as the Hornets handed the Toronto Raptors their third straight loss, 102-84.

"It's tough to stay focused when everybody is putting so much emphasis on the wrong things," Carter said.

Carter, who accepted an invitation to replace injured Tom Gugliotta on the U.S. Olympic team for the Sydney Games on Friday, was 4-for-16 from the field. He saw his streak of 23 straight games with 20 or more points end.

Anthony Mason, who frequently posted up Carter, had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Derrick Coleman added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Elden Campbell had 14 points and nine rebounds, and David Wesley scored 12.

"Not only was Vince off, but he was taking some really tough shots," Wesley said. "They were just out of sync."

Charlotte moved within two games of the Raptors for second place in the Central division.

"Mason was posting deep and going to work," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "And Vince was just missing shots."

Muggsy Bogues brught Toronto within five with a jumper late in the third quarter, but Coleman sparked a 21-4 run with a 3-pointer off the glass. The decisive run included a three-point play and jumper by Mason, a 3-pointer and a jump shot by Jones, and three jumpers by Eddie Robinson.

Robinson's last jump shot made it 88-66 with 9:15 remaining.

"It was a tough time to run into Mason and Coleman. They're playing so well, and Vince is not shooting well," Toronto coach Butch Carter said.

Carter started 0-for-8 from the field before making three consecutive 3-pointers in the final 3:19 of the first half as the Raptors cut Charlotte's 13-point lead to five.

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