SALT LAKE CITY -- It's probably an exaggeration to call it a vintage Vinsanity moment, but Vince Carter provided a flashback to his days as one of the most entertaining high-flying acts in NBA history with his dagger dunk Monday night.

Spotted up in the right corner as the clock ticked under a minute, Carter cut hard on the baseline as Mike Conley drew the attention of three Utah Jazz defenders. Carter caught a backdoor dime from Conley, went up off two feet, twisted his body midair and threw it down hard with two hands on the other side of the rim.

Carter, the oldest player in the league at 39, celebrated the dagger dunk that gave the Memphis Grizzlies a six-point lead by revving up his imaginary handlebars. First, however, he hung on the rim for a bit -- not a showboat move but a precautionary act to protect his creaky right ankle.

"It's not even going up. It's coming down," Carter told ESPN after the Grizzlies' 102-96 road win. "That's why I sit there on the rim, holding on for dear life, so I can come down and say, 'OK, we're good.' That's where the problem comes."

Vince Carter had 20 points and seven rebounds against the Jazz on Monday. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Carter, who ranks 24th on the all-time scoring list, is presenting a lot of problems for opponents these days. He became the oldest player in NBA history to score 20 points off the bench with his performance against the Jazz. That broke a record Carter set six days earlier in a win over the Denver Nuggets.

You didn't think Carter's days as a productive NBA player were over, did you?

"The way he's still playing, retire for what?" said Zach Randolph, who gave the Grizzlies 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench against the Jazz. "Give him a two- or three-year deal! That's what I'd do. S---, better give him some money!"

Don't feel bad if you didn't see this coming from Carter, who has been critical to the 5-5 Grizzlies' attempt to keep their heads above water as Chandler Parsons works his way back from knee surgery and Tony Allen battles to get back on the floor. He has been a much better player this season than he was his previous two campaigns in Memphis.

After struggling to recover from a 2014 offseason operation on his right ankle, Carter had a tough time the past two years. He certainly didn't resemble the quality role player he became during his stint in Dallas, much less the perennial All-Star he was for the first half of his career. His stats were unsightly: 5.8 points per game on 33.3 percent shooting in 2014-15 and 6.6 points on 38.8 percent shooting last season.

But Carter has rebounded to be a major asset off the Memphis bench this season. He is putting up 10.4 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting and providing the Grizzlies some savvy playmaking and even a defensive weapon against some of the better wings they've faced.

"It's not easy," Carter said. "It may look easy out there on the court, but it's not easy. … The game has come easy for me for a long time. When it got a little tougher, I put a little more work in. It's made me better. Being at this age, still playing at this level is just amazing."

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Carter requires a lot of maintenance, especially on his right ankle, so much so that he takes an Uber to road arenas well before the first bus leaves the team hotel. He said he started to figure out some techniques to help ease the chronic pain and stiffness in the ankle last season, such as the use of devices called mobes to get the joint moving, and he has stuck with them. He also focused this offseason on strengthening the area around the ankle.

"Every little thing counts," Carter said. "I'm willing to do it all."

He's also willing to do anything to help the Grizzlies win. As his beard has grayed, he has become a glue guy capable of serving as an occasional go-to guy. His contributions in the locker room, from counseling Randolph on making the transition from starter to reserve to taking young players under his wing, might be as valuable to the Grizzlies as his on-court production.

"If there's a guy that's really connected with me from the standpoint of how I want our team to be and what I want us to represent, it's Vince Carter," coach David Fizdale said. "Ultimate professional. He's the first guy in the weight room after the game. He's always doing something to reinvent himself. Whatever I've asked of him, he's come through for me, whether it's getting the team together off the court, whether it's making the big pass for a bucket, whether it's setting the screen. He took the big challenge on guarding some of the better wings that we've had to face and done a good job.

"He sees that the end is getting near. When that is, I don't know because he seems to keep going. But he has an urgency about himself, and I'm really trying to get that to resonate through the team and for them to see things through his eyes."

Every once in a while, those old eyes still rise to rim level.