TORONTO – Vince Carter scored 22 points and backup point guard Milt Palacio had a season-high 18 points and seven assists as the Toronto Raptors routed the New York Knicks 114-91 Wednesday night.

Palacio came within two points of his career-high for the Raptors, who won for just the second time in eight games.

Before the game, first-year coach Sam Mitchell said he was “losing his mind” because he thought the team could play better. He compared the Raptors to the comical Washington Generals after Tuesday’s loss to the Washington Wizards.

Toronto led by as many as 27 points in handing the Knicks their second-worst loss of the season. New York lost by 34 in its home opener against Boston.

Palacio had 14 points as Toronto led 63-48 at halftime, a season-high for points in a first half for Toronto. Palacio and rookie Matt Bonner each had eight points as the Toronto outscored New York 30-20 in the decisive second quarter.

The Knicks didn’t get closer than 18 points in the second half.

Stephon Marbury and Nazr Mohammed each had 25 points for New York. Jamal Crawford went 3-for-14 from the field for just seven points.

Carter, who joked two days ago that he wouldn’t dunk again, made a spectacular windmill dunk to give Toronto a 24-point lead with 5:38 left in the third quarter.

Notes: Bonner, quickly becoming a fan favorite, went 6-for-9 from the field for 12 points and seven rebounds. …. Toronto’s Rafer Alston hopes Mitchell doesn’t lose his mind just yet. “I hope he doesn’t lose it totally. It’s only the first two or three weeks of the season. We have five or six months to go. I hope he stays sane,” Alston said. … Palacio scored a career-high 20 points on Mar. 16 for Cleveland against Utah. … The Raptors honored the CFL champion Toronto Argonauts before the second quarter.

AP-ES-11-24-04 2133EST