Toronto evens series – Raptors 89, Pistons 83

? Something about elimination games brings out the best in the Toronto Raptors. They showed it again Monday night.

Avoiding an end to their season for the second time in three days, the Raptors found another way to win without Vince Carter.

Toronto's Antonio Davis, left, hangs from the rim after dunking over Detroit's Chucky Atkins. The Raptors won Game 4 on Monday night at Toronto, 89-83.

Keon Clark had 19 points and 16 rebounds and Morris Peterson scored a career playoff-high 20 points as Toronto beat Detroit 89-83 in Game 4 of their first-round series.

Game 5 will be Thursday night at Detroit, with the Raptors having shown the Pistons they’re no pushovers despite the absence of their best player. Toronto is 5-1 when facing elimination over the past two seasons.

The Pistons failed to capitalize on Toronto’s slow start, struggled for long stretches on offense and got another sub-par game from Jerry Stackhouse. Now, they must go into an elimination game with a roster that lacks the playoff experience of Toronto’s.

The Raptors, winning at home for the 10th straight time, took the lead for good in the second quarter and held off every Detroit run. Alvin Williams had 15 points and nine assists and Davis had 10 points. Peterson shot 8-for-12, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter, while Clark had 15 points and 13 rebounds by halftime.

The Pistons found a way to get the ball out of Davis’ hands after he hurt them so much in Game 3, but the Raptors had plenty of other options.

Detroit, meanwhile, looked to reserves Corliss Williamson and Jon Barry for points in the fourth quarter as Stackhouse shot 6-for-18 and scored 15 points.

It became apparent quite early that this might not be Detroit’s night. The Raptors made their first shot and then missed their next 12, but the Pistons could only go ahead by eight points. Toronto came back and regained the lead before the end of the quarter, then opened the second period with a 9-0 run for a 30-21 lead.