TORONTO (Ticker) -- Vince Carter made up for a frustrating three quarters with a spectacular fourth.
Carter scored 12 of his 22 points in the final period to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 92-87 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Toronto faced a 64-62 deficit after three quarters as Carter was limited to 16 minutes while picking up four fouls. He made up for it in the fourth, especially down the stretch.
"To tell you the truth, I was bored," Carter said of sitting on the bench. "But you have to stay focused."
Carter drove and picked up a foul on Stephen Jackson, converting a pair at the line for an 85-84 lead with 40 seconds to go. Atlanta's Jason Terry missed a jumper, and Carter leapt high for the rebound and was fouled, draining two more with 24 seconds left.
Hawks rookie Boris Diaw missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining. Jalen Rose, who had 22 points and 10 assists, made four free throws in the final 16 seconds as Toronto made all 12 in the final period.
Clearly pumped up, Carter put an exclamation point on the victory with a one-handed windmill dunk after the buzzer sounded.
"I feel real good about what's happening to this team," Carter said. "The new players have brought not only excitement, but a lot of veteran knowledge."
Toronto won its third straight since acquiring Rose and Donyell Marshall from Chicago. Marshall scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half.
"I'm still trying to find my rhythm and feel my way around," Rose said. "It's a slow process, but I had to be more aggressive with Vince in foul trouble."
Atlanta has seen Carter at his best before. He scored 43 points, including a game-winning jumper with one second left in overtime of a 99-97 overtime victory at Atlanta on November 26.
"We got down early and fought back," Atlanta coach Terry Stotts said. "But Vince made the plays in the fourth quarter."
Rose had six assists in a first quarter in which Toronto led by as many as 12 points before settling for a 28-20 advantage. The Hawks rallied and limited the Raptors to 41 percent (14-of-34) shooting over the next two periods to take the lead.
Terry scored 19 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 15 and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost six straight visits to Toronto.
