Stoudamire's 36 helps Raptors bite Clippers 109-101

TORONTO -- It isn't easy to stop Damon Stoudamire one-on-one. The Los Angeles Clippers learned that the hard way Wednesday night.

"Most teams trap me on the pick and roll. But they played me straight up, so it wasn't really that hard a night," Stoudamire said after tying his season high with 36 points to lead the Toronto Raptors past the Clippers 109-101.

Stoudamire, who scored more than 30 points for the fifth time this season, helped the Raptors snap a five-game home losing streak with only their second win in their last 18 games at SkyDome.

He also added a game-high 11 assists.

"It was like a playground game out there," Stoudamire said. ``Nobody could stop anybody. Finally we got some stops in the second half and turned the game around."

Stoudamire, who scored 22 points in the first half, took 31 shots before leaving to a standing ovation with about a minute to play. He iced the victory with a pair of 3-point shots in the final four minutes as the Raptors won at home for just the second time in their last 18 games.

Marcus Camby added 20 points, Doug Christie had 14 points and seven steals, the most by a Raptor this season, and John Wallace scored 14 points off the bench.

Lamond Murray had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, losers of four in a row and and four straight on the road.

"Stoudamire turned it up, hit some big shots and before we knew it, they had a 10-point lead," Murray said. "But the bottom line is, we're not stopping anybody. The big stars all seem to be averaging 30 points or more against us."

The Raptors, who matched their season high point total, shot 52.3 percent from the field, their second best shooting performance of the season.

Rodney Rogers and Brent Barry scored 16 points apiece and Maurice Taylor had 17 points off the bench as the Clippers shot a respectable 46.1 percent from the field but turned the ball over 19 times.

"The guy (Stoudamire) was tough and we didn't get a stopper on him," Clippers coach Bill Fitch said. "When we finally did try to double team him in the fourth, he took us apart."

Despite carrying his team for most of this disappointing season, Stoudamire is likely to be snubbed when the reserves are chosen for the upcoming All-Star game.

"He deserves to be there," Raptors coach Darrell Walker said. ``But I don't think he's going to make it. Our team (6-31) needs a few more wins."

Notes: Near healthy at last, the Raptors dressed 12 players for only the second time in their last 11 games. ... Toronto's nine games decided by three points or less is the most in the league. ... With Marcus Camby in the lineup, the Raptors average 8.4 blocks per game. When he's out, the club averages 5.0. ... The Clippers have allowed an average of almost 103 points per game, most in the NBA. ... Lorenzen Wright missed his fifth straight game with a strained left knee ligament. He's listed as day-to-day.