Vince Carter's return to the Raptors lineup made an immediate impact.

Instead of scoring 72 points and losing, the Raptors scored 92 points and lost.

Any thought that the presence of Carter would be a cure-all for the Raptors was dashed last night with a 101-92 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics before a hockey-buzzed crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre.

"It's not about me coming back -- so what?" said Carter, whose Raptors (29-29) are a .500 team again after losing eight games in a row. "If we're not winning, nobody cares. I might as well sit out."

Carter scored a game-high 28 points in his return match after missing the previous seven games with a strained left quadriceps. He played 39 minutes and at times looked physically exhausted.