Vince Carter’s 3 best games against the Milwaukee Bucks – Raptors (January 14, 2000)
Thirty days before Carter’s superstar status would be sealed for good and his place in the game would essentially become immortalized, the Bucks were given a really strong taste of just how special the former UNC Tar Heel was.
The abiding memory of Carter’s 2000 NBA season for most is the all-time performance he put on to be crowned champion at the Slam Dunk Contest a month later, but Milwaukee fans may well remember Carter torching their team too.
Just over a week after learning he wouldn’t be a part of the US Olympic Team in Athens (something which would change by the time that event came around, as Frederic Weis will tell you), Carter had a chance to make a real point about that snub.
Having reportedly missed out to the slightly more experienced Ray Allen, Allen and the Bucks came to Toronto on January 14, 2000, giving Carter an ideal opportunity to exact his revenge.
That’s just what he did too, putting on a show with a truly emphatic scoring performance that left little doubt as to how special Carter was as a scorer.
Perhaps most notably going up against Allen, known as one of the smoothest shooters to ever play the game, Carter punished the Bucks over and over with his jumpshot. Whether from the midrange or deep, with a defender in his face or not, Carter spent the night drilling down jumpers while hardly even brushing the rim in the process.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Carter if he didn’t deliver some form of high-flying spectacle, and so he finished off his night by slamming down a ferocious windmill dunk on the break, much to the bemusement of Bucks coach George Karl.
With 47 points on 20-of-32 shooting, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks, this was a special performance from Carter,