Gradey Dick made a basket with 19 seconds left in overtime and Toronto eked out a 131-128 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, on a night where the Raptors paid tribute to Vince Carter by retiring his number 15.
Dick’s floating shot allowed him to finish with 22 points, the same tally as Ochai Agbaji. RJ Barrett scored 31 points, reaching or exceeding the 30-point mark in a third straight game.
Montrealer Chris Boucher shone with 24 points, including a 4-for-6 record on three-point shots.
Jakob Poeltl added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Davion Mitchell stood out with seven assists and five steals.
DeMar DeRozan, himself a former Raptor of note, led Sacramento with 33 points.
The Kings had won three in a row, by an average of 12.7 points.
The Raptors stopped a four-game losing streak, getting back on track in an evening marked by the removal of Carter’s jersey in the heights of Scotiabank Arena at halftime.
On the banner, we see him doing one of his iconic dunks.
Loudly cheered by the crowd at the start of the 25-minute ceremony, a very emotional Carter cried his eyes out.
Concluding a video tribute, Alvin Williams, Glen Grunwald, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Nav Bhatia, Stephen Curry, Scottie Barnes and Larry Tenenbaum congratulated Carter.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri then delivered a fiery speech about the star of the evening.
Carter was accompanied by his wife Sondi and children Vince Jr., Kai and Vayle.
Also around were several of Carter’s former teammates including Jerome Williams, Charles Oakley and Muggsy Bogues, as well as the current edition of the Raptors, coming out of the locker room.
In his speech, Carter recalled that it was in the Queen City that Vinsanity, Air Canada and Half Man Half Amazing, the catchy nicknames given to him, were born.
He thanked Toronto and the Raptors fans – speaking of “our” jersey in the Heights, he said he was honored to be able to share this moment with the fans.
Carter was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last month.
His jersey is the first to be retired by the Toronto club.
Carter averaged 23.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, four assists, 1.3 steals and one block per game with the Raptors.
He spent over six seasons with them before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in December 2004. In 22 seasons in the NBA (an NBA record shared with LeBron James), Carter averaged 16.7 points. Carter was Rookie of the Year in 1999.
Champion of the dunk contest in 2000, he was part of eight all-star teams.
In the afternoon, the Raptors unveiled a mural in his honor at the corner of Queen and Duncan in downtown Toronto.
Late in the overtime, Dick stole the ball from De’Aaron Fox and that led to a Barrett three-point play to make it 129-125 Raptors, with 54 seconds left.
DeRozan responded with a shot from beyond the perimeter before Dick succeeded on a floater.
The Kings had two final chances to tie the game, but DeRozan and Fox missed from three-point range.
Toronto was notably without Scottie Barnes, whose right orbital fracture will be re-evaluated in just under three weeks.
Toronto was also without Immanuel Quickley (pelvic bone), Bruce Brown (right knee) and Kelly Olynyk (back).
The Raptors will play their next five road games starting Monday night in Denver.
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