76ers Finish With a Flourish

Nobody came close to scoring 50. The biggest shot in this game was the one that gave Allen Iverson 30.

Iverson sank a three-point basket with 2:21 remaining to break the last tie, and the Philadelphia 76ers regained their poise and came up with enough of a balanced attack to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 84-79, Sunday.

“Nobody ever told me that winning a championship was easy, and I found out the hard way that isn’t easy to win a playoff game,” said Iverson, who shot 10 for 30 but came though in the clutch after Toronto had rallied from a 16-point deficit.

The 76ers evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece and regained home-court advantage heading into Game 5 Wednesday night at Philadelphia.

All the news wasn’t good, however, as starting small forward George Lynch fractured his left foot in the third quarter and will be sidelined for the rest of the playoffs.

“It’s disappointing because we’ve figured out what we need to do to stop the Raptors in this series--we have to slow the ball down and get our defense set. We did that today and built a nice comfortable lead for most of the game,” Lynch said.

The 76ers also played with the energy and determination that had been missing in Game 3, prompting them to call two players-only meetings to clear the air.

Aaron McKie, the NBA’s sixth man of the year, moved into Philadelphia’s starting lineup and had 18 points, five assists and five rebounds. He also spent almost the entire game defending Vince Carter, helping hold him to 25 points on eight-for-27 shooting.

Dikembe Mutombo bounced back from a poor Game 3 and had 13 points and 17 rebounds for the 76ers, who won despite Tyrone Hill being in foul trouble and Lynch leaving late in the third quarter.

“I told them after the meeting that I wasn’t worried at all about this game,” Iverson said. “I really felt we were going to get this game, and I found out more about my teammates in this game.”

Iverson wasn’t at his best, shooting three for 12 in the second half, but he did make the one shot that deflated the Raptors after they had spent so much time clawing their way back.

It was a straightaway three-pointer over Carter with 2:21 left that gave the 76ers an 81-78 lead.

“I couldn’t make a shot in the second half, but I thought I could make that one and kind of turn things around for us, and fortunately I was able to hit it,” Iverson said.

Said Eric Snow: “They had just tied the game and thought they had the momentum, but that was a big momentum-breaker right there.”

Antonio Davis and Charles Oakley committed turnovers on Toronto’s next two possessions, and Iverson hit Snow with a pass for an open jumper that put Philadelphia ahead, 83-78, with 1:48 left.

The previous two games had been marked by spectacular efforts by Iverson (54 points in Game 2) and Carter (50 in Game 3).