TORONTO, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Vince Carter scored 27 points and fueled a huge second-half run Thursday night as the Toronto Raptors avenged a blowout loss with a 115-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The teams met in the exhibition opener in Billings, Mont. on Thursday and the Raptors absorbed a 125-92 beating. Toronto never led in that one, but this contest was close for more than a half until Carter took charge.
Carter's driving dunk gave the Raptors a 64-56 lead with 7:46 to go in the third quarter and started a 35-5 explosion. Carter hit a pair of three-pointers and had 12 points and Morris Peterson added 10 in the surge, which ended at 97-61 on a three-pointer by Tracy Murray with 10:36 to play.
Peterson scored 22 points and Antonio Davis added 13 for Toronto (1-1).
Center Hakeem Olajuwon, acquired from Houston in the offseason, had four points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. First-round pick Michael Bradley played for the first time and scored three points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors.
Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 11 for the Timberwolves (1-1), who have to be happy with what they saw from second-round pick Loren Woods.
The 7-footer, who slipped out of the first round of the draft due to questions about his health and inconsistent play, totaled nine points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
Toronto's Chris Childs, Jerome Williams and Dell Curry and Minnesota's Anthony Peeler and Joe Smith all sat out with minor injuries.
