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Last-second heroics Dee Brown's 3-pointer sends Raptors over Wizards
Posted: Saturday December 04, 1999 12:06 AM
TORONTO (AP) -- Dee Brown had to convince his coach and trainer to let him play with a stiff left knee Friday night. He won his argument and then won the game. Brown's 3-pointer with one second left gave the Toronto Raptors a 95-93 win over the Washington Wizards. "Everybody tried to convince me not to play, but I hate sitting out," said Brown, who missed Toronto's first six games this season after undergoing knee surgery. "The trainer didn't want me to play, and I had to argue with coach [Butch] Carter." Tracy McGrady inbounded the ball with 3.2 seconds left to Brown, who turned and hit a wide-open shot after Charles Oakley set a pick. "Oak set a great pick," Brown said. "To be that open was different. Especially in that kind of situation, you expect someone to run at you. There was nobody around." Mitch Richmond, who led the Wizards with 18 points, took a 30-foot shot at the buzzer that bounced off the rim. Vince Carter led Toronto with 23 points, and McGrady added a season-high 21 for the Raptors, who nearly blew a 17-point lead in the second half. "Dee was wide-open, and I didn't even look for a rebound," Carter said. "I came running off the court when I saw him shoot the ball." Rod Strickland had 16 points and 12 assists for Washington, while Juwan Howard had 15 points for the Wizards. "I can't tell how Dee Brown broke free. I was concentrating on Vince Carter," Howard said. "Brown just made the shot." Howard hit consecutive jumpers to give Washington a 91-85 lead with 2:01 left in the game, but Toronto's Antonio Davis converted a three-point play and McGrady hit an 15-footer to cut the margin to one. After Strickland made a short jumper, Carter hit a 19-footer to make it 93-92. Howard then missed a wide-open jumper with 24 seconds left, giving the Raptors the final possession. After Carter's shot was blocked by Howard with five seconds left, McGrady inbounded to Brown for the winning basket. "I've been fighting knee problems the past couple of days. I'm just glad the coach had confidence in me to make the play," Brown said. Notes: Washington's Isaac Austin fractured his nose midway through the first quarter after fighting for a rebound with teammate Michael Smith. Austin was taken to a hospital for X-rays and did not return. ... Washington's Chris Whitney also took a shot to the nose after running into Toronto's Charles Oakley in the second quarter. He was OK. ... Toronto's Doug Christie sprained his right ankle in the first half and did not return.
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