Thursday, December 30, 1999
Carter steps in to
Associated Press
lead HeatORLANDO, Fla. -- With point guard Tim Hardaway missing his 17th consecutive game and center Alonzo Mourning having just fouled out, the Miami Heat looked to be out of weapons against the Orlando Magic last night.
Fortunately for the Atlantic Division leaders, rookie Anthony Carter, Hardaway's replacement, picked the perfect time to step up.
Carter, the former Hawaii star, scored the Heat's final four points to lead Miami to a 109-106 victory.
Carter drove past Orlando point guard Darrell Armstrong for the eventual game-winning layup with 16 seconds left.
"That wasn't the intended play," coach Pat Riley said following his team's second victory in as many nights. "But A.C. saw that Darrell was playing off him, and he took it strong to the hole, and fortunately for us, he hit a tremendous shot. He is taking the responsibility and really playing well."
Following a miss by Armstrong, Carter took the ball again and got fouled, and his two free throws with three seconds remaining provided the final margin.
He finished with a career-high 21 points and had nine assists. Mourning had 28 points and 11 rebounds.
"This game is going to help me out a lot," Carter said. "You cannot be tentative. It felt pretty good. Some guys live for this situation. I got my chance and I think I did a good job of stepping up and hitting those free throws."
Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Chris Gatling led the Magic with 21 points. Armstrong finished with 15 points and 10 assists despite injuring his right wrist in an attempt to gain control of a loose ball late in the second quarter.
