HOUSTON -- Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter reinjured his surgically repaired knee and left Saturday night's game against the Houston Rockets in the first quarter.

	Carter

Carter, who had season-ending surgery on his left knee last March, collapsed in pain at 6:17 of the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room with ice wrapped around his knee.

Without their best weapon, the Raptors struggled on offense and lost to the Rockets 88-76.

"No dumb questions because I'm not answering them," Carter said afterward. "I just don't know. It really hurts. This is three years in a row and it gets very frustrating and it gets very tough."

Carter sustained a quadriceps tendon strain and was listed as day-to-day. He will be re-examined in Toronto on Monday.

"I was running down the court and I just couldn't go," Carter said. "It is about the same as last year. We'll see after the MRI (Monday). I have to figure a way to get back. I knew when it happened what it was. It's not a good feeling at all."

The three-time All-Star missed the final 14 games last season after having surgery to repair the "jumper's knee'' that plagued him for most of the season, and some of the previous year.

The Raptors won 12 of 14 games down the stretch in Carter's absence to reach the playoffs. He vowed to return this season better than ever.

The 25-year-old Carter played through the preseason and the Raptors' first two games saying he felt no pain. He seemed to be back to his acrobatic self, throwing down a huge one-handed dunk Friday night in a loss at San Antonio.

Carter was the team's leading scorer in the first two games, averaging 18 points and three rebounds in 36 minutes.