Raptors Take 76ers to Limit

The Toronto Raptors weren’t going to let Allen Iverson end their season.

Employing a double-teaming defense that took Iverson out of his rhythm, Toronto got 39 points from Vince Carter and dominated the fourth quarter to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-89, Friday night and force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Raptors, winning for the third time this season when facing elimination, looked nothing like they did two nights earlier in Philadelphia when they lost by 33 points and saw Iverson score 52.

Sending the series back to Philadelphia for the deciding game Sunday, the Raptors played with composure, were the more physical team and benefited from a series of adjustments made by Coach Lenny Wilkens--the most important of which was sending two defenders at Iverson as soon as he touched the ball.

“That’s how we have to do it. We understood that no one man in this league can guard him one-on-one,” Carter said. “That’s the respect he’s earned and we knew if he scored 52 again we might have lost this game.”

Iverson missed 10 of his first 12 shots and finished six of 24 from the field for 20 points.

Rookie Morris Peterson, making his first start since Game 1 of the first round, scored 17 points. Antonio Davis added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Alvin Williams had 15 for the Raptors, who turned it into a blowout with a late 11-0 run in which Carter scored nine points.

Peterson, who scored a total of 20 points in the Raptors’ first 10 playoff games, made two three-point baskets early in the fourth quarter to give Toronto an eight-point lead after the 76ers had cut a 19-point deficit to two.

“Those two threes were about as important as any two shots in this series,” 76er Coach Larry Brown said.

Iverson had only six points at halftime after missing two layups and shooting an airball. He came back with 12 in the third quarter but had only two in the fourth.

“They did a good job of doubling me and getting the ball out of my hands, but we didn’t play defense well and that’s the reason we lost,” Iverson said.

Philadelphia’s Dikembe Mutombo guaranteed a victory on Sunday.

“That’s a guarantee. We are going to win. We’re going to come out and beat them and win Game 7,” he said. “We know what kind of mistakes we made and we’re going to come back and be ready for Game 7.”