Nets Beat Damon-less Raptors
What was left of the Toronto Raptors after trading star point guard Damon Stoudamire wasn't much, and the New Jersey Nets had no problem beating them 130-115 on Friday night.
Keith Van Horn had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Jayson Williams had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Nets overwhelmed the seven healthy players Toronto had on hand less than five hours after Stoudamire and two other players were traded to Portland and coach Darrell Walker resigned.
Coupled with injuries, that left interim coach Butch Carter with only seven healthy players. Center Marcus Camby, who sprained his right thumb against Cleveland on Thursday night, put on his uniform so the team would meet the NBA minimum requirement of eight players. He didn't play.
The Nets never trailed after closing the first quarter with a 13-2 spurt to take a 29-19 lead.
Van Horn, who had 12 points and seven rebounds in the quarter, scored seven in the run that led New Jersey to its third straight win and sixth in eight games.
New Jersey blew the game open with a season-high 41-point third quarter which featured a parade of layups and dunks as the Nets pushed the ball upcourt.
Kendall Gill, who was the subject of a trade between the Nets and Toronto earlier in the week, had 18 points. Kerry Kittles had 17.
John Wallace had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead Toronto. Rookie Tracy McGrady scored a career-high 22 and Shawn Respert tied his career high with 20.
Notes: Michael Cage played in his 707th consecutive game, moving past Dolph Schayes fourth most in NBA history. ...The game got so out of hand Nets coach John Calipari used guard Kevin Edwards for the first time in eight games. ... The Nets shots 57 percent from the field. Toronto shot 49.5 percent in losing its third straight. ... Raptors center Oliver Miller played 19 minutes and scored 2 points.
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