It didn't take long for Theo Ratliff to make
his presence felt for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sidelined with a stress fracture in his left ankle for the first
six games of the season, Ratliff returned with 17 points, eight
rebounds and a key blocked shot as the 76ers held off the
Toronto Raptors, 93-90.
"I wanted to get to a point where I was healthy enough to make a
contribution," Ratliff said. "Tonight I felt great. Everything
is going well. I enjoyed being out there.
"Theo was a presence the whole game," 76ers coach Larry Brown
said.
The 6-10 forward started at center and triggered a 12-2 burst in
the fourth quarter that was fueled by Allen Iverson, who scored
eight of his 30 points in the pivotal stretch. Iverson has
scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games, with the
Sixers (3-4) winning three.
"Theo back gave us confidence, especially being on the road,"
Iverson said. "We feel with Theo, we can't be beat at home or on
the road."
Toronto's Vince Carter scored a season-high 27 points but had a
layup blocked by Ratliff and missed a potential tying 3-pointer
in the final seconds. The cold-shooting Raptors trailed by 19
points in the third quarter and had a four-game winning streak
snapped.
"It was a fight from start to finish and they won," Carter said.
"We were missing shots early and they were getting fast breaks
and making their layups and jump shots. We still fought hard to
come back. But we ran out of gas at the end. We just have to
bounce back."
Losers of its first four road games, Philadelphia took a 75-66
lead into the fourth quarter but had six turnovers in the first
four minutes of the period. A jumper by Carter completed a 9-1
surge and pulled the Raptors within 76-75 with 8:08 to go.
Ratliff took an alley-oop pass from Iverson and dunked to start
the decisive run. Iverson and Toronto's Dell Curry traded
baskets before Philadelphia's Eric Snow scored with 6:46 left.
Iverson made a four-point play and a fast-break layup to widen
the lead to 88-77 with 5:48 remaining.
"I thought we played great, except for seven or eight minutes,"
Brown said. "We took bad shots and had turnovers. We knew
Toronto was going to make a run at us and we got upset. But we
made some big shots."
Two 3-pointers by Curry, who scored 13 points, helped Toronto
peck away at the deficit. Ratliff's layup with 1:26 left gave
Philadelphia a 92-87 lead and Carter answered with a pair of
free throws.
Carter and Snow traded a free throw apiece before Carter had his
drive blocked by Ratliff, who was third in the league in blocks
last season. Snow lost the deflection out of bounds with 7.5
seconds left but Carter and Alvin Williams missed 3-pointers
before the horn sounded.
"We knew they'd try to get a quick basket and I was patrolling
the lane," Ratliff said.
"Theo is a very good player when he's healthy," Raptors coach
Butch Carter said. "He gives them a presence in the middle that
they haven't had."
George Lynch scored 12 points and Snow added eight, 11 assists
and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who shot 44 percent
(37-of-84) from the field. Iverson made 4-of-5 3-pointers and
added seven rebounds and six assists.
Doug Christie scored 19 points for the Raptors, who shot just 37
percent (29-of-78), negating a 27-14 edge in made foul shots.
Iverson scored 12 points and Ratliff and Lynch 10 apiece as the
Sixers grabbed a 55-45 halftime lead. Iverson framed a 9-0 run
to open the third quarter with a 3-pointer and jumper, pushing
Philadelphia's lead to 64-45 with 8:25 remaining.
"We played solid defense," Iverson said. "It was important to
get an early lead. It gave us confidence."
"They got the lead early and it gave them confidence," said
Raptors forward Charles Oakley, who was held scoreless. "Being
down by 19 is a lot at home. We just didn't get the job done. We
really haven't done anything yet. We have a good team but we
have to be consistent if we want to be an elite team in this
league."
Consecutive baskets by Christie closed the period and capped a
9-2 burst that cut Toronto's deficit to nine points.
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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The only title Jerry Stackhouse has
been chasing since leaving Philadelphia is the scoring title.
Stackhouse scored 34 points but former teammate Allen Iverson
poured in 44 as the league-leading Philadelphia 76ers continued
their ascension at the Detroit Pistons' expense, cruising to a
105-89 rout.
After completing a franchise-record 12-game road winning streak
with an 85-84 overtime triumph at Houston on Wednesday, the
Sixers had little trouble carrying their success back to the
First Union Center.
Iverson and Stackhouse each had 13 points in the first quarter,
when Philadelphia took the lead for good, 25-21. Armed with a
better supporting cast, Iverson dictated the pace thereafter,
scoring 10 points in the second period as Philadelphia opened a
58-41 halftime lead.
"We're 33-10, 10, but next day we could be 33-11, then (33-12)
and so on," Iverson said. "We don't want that. We're going to
play every game like it's our last. We want to take it one game
at a time so that something special will happen at the end of
the season."
Stackhouse was traded to Detroit on December 18, 1997 for guard
Aaron McKie and center Theo Ratliff -- both of whom have played
significant roles in Philadelphia's rise to the top of the NBA
standings.
Stackhouse entered the contest with a league-leading 29.9-point
scoring average, but the Pistons have lost 10 of their last 11
and are 12 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the Central
Division.
He helped Detroit get within four points late in the third
quarter, but Iverson closed the period by drilling an 18-footer
and made four free throws before feeding Todd MacCulloch for a
layup that extended the advantage to 81-70 with 8:34 to play.
"The shots just didn't fall for us," Stackhouse said. "From
there, they made their shots and got it back up to 10. We were
never able to recover from that. We're hoping at some point we
can catch a break. If we put forth the same effort in the first
half that we had in the second half, it might have been a
different game."
Iverson has scored at least 30 points in seven of his last nine
games and has cracked 40 on eight occasions. Philadelphia is
15-2 since dropping back-to-back games on December 20-22 and
improved to 14-6 at home. The Sixers own the NBA's best road
mark at 19-4.
"We have come out and had letdowns at home based on the way
we've played on the road," Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said.
"For the most part, everybody realizes that we have to play the
right way in order to be successful and win. We're fortunate, we
are truly a team."
Philadelphia has taken seven of the last nine meetings in the
series.
George Lynch had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Ratliff and McKie
combined for 25 points as the Sixers moved seven games ahead of
second-place New York in the Atlantic Division. At 33-10,
Philadelphia is two games ahead of Western Conference-leading
Portland for the NBA's best overall mark.
Iverson made 14-of-29 shots, 15-of-16 free throws and picked up
five steals in 47 spectacular minutes. Stackhouse hit 12-of-32
shots and was 8-of-12 at the line. He grabbed seven rebounds to
go with five assists but also committed half of the Pistons' 12
turnovers.
Joe Smith had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Chucky Atkins scored
11 points for Detroit, which shot 38 percent (32-of-85) and lost
the battle on the boards, 49-42.
"It's hard to beat Philly when you shoot 37 percent," Detroit
coach George Irvine said. "We gave them so many easy baskets in
the first half and they manhandled us on the boards. When you
shoot like we did tonight, I don't think you're gonna beat
Philadelphia very often."
The Sixers shot 49 percent (41-of-84) and also committed 12
turnovers.
Iverson hit two free throws, a 15-footer, a 17-footer and a
layup that closed the first-half scoring, giving Philadelphia a
58-41 cushion.
Stackhouse began shooting the Pistons back into contention early
in the third quarter, hitting a 20-footer and following with a
19-footer that shaved the deficit to 60-52 with 8:49 left in the
period.
Smith converted a three-point play and added two free throws as
Detroit closed to 71-67 with 22 seconds left in the third
quarter. But Iverson knocked down an 18-footer on the ensuing
trip and the Sixers pulled away in the final period.
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After their big man was thrown out, the
Philadelphia 76ers made a big comeback with their little guys.
Center Dikembe Mutombo's ejection early in the third quarter
spurred the 76ers, who rallied from a 20-point deficit behind
guards Allen Iverson and Eric Snow for a 104-96 victory over the
New York Knicks.
Iverson scored 35 points and Snow added 23 for the Sixers, who
won their fourth straight game and showed some of the grit they
displayed last season, when they reached the NBA Finals.
"It's extra special (to win) when you have to fight and
struggle," Iverson said. "We were able to keep fighting through
it. I know last year's team is dead and stinkin', but we took
something from last year's team (in this game)."
"I've had this team for five years and they try," Sixers coach
Larry Brown said. "They might not always play right and they
might not always play good, but they try."
The 7-2 Mutombo, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year,
was ejected in the first minute of the third quarter for a
second flagrant foul. The ensuing free throws by Kurt Thomas
gave the Knicks a 65-45 lead.
That's when Iverson, Snow and the rest of the Sixers came alive,
particularly on the defensive end. Their pressure changed the
tempo of the game, and the momentum shortly thereafter.
"When he got ejected, everybody just stepped up their game,"
Iverson said.
"We said, `What are we gonna do?'" Snow said. "'Are we gonna
lay down? Or are we gonna pick up the intensity?'"
The 6-3 Snow set the tone, going chest-to-chest with Allan
Houston off the ensuing inbounds pass. He limited him to 1-of-9
shooting in the second half after Houston had torched the Sixers
for five 3-pointers and 18 points in the first half.
Snow collected four steals as did Iverson, the league leader in
that category. The 6-foot superstar used his quickness to
contest nearly every pass and make things difficult for the
Knicks to get into their offense.
During the third-quarter rally, Iverson dove to break up an
inbounds pass, scrambled to his feet to get the ball and dunked,
stunning the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden.
"They have great quickness," admitted Knicks coach Don Chaney,
whose team blew another double-digit lead. "They get into guys.
That's what happened. I thought they really got into us."
The defense allowed the Sixers to put together bursts of 11-0
and 10-0 that pulled them into a 70-70 tie with 1:56 remaining
in the third quarter. Less than a minute later, Snow made a
steal and passed to Iverson, who drove and dished to Derrick
Coleman for a layup and a 74-72 lead.
There were six lead changes in the fourth quarter, the last on
two free throws by Matt Harpring that gave the Sixers a 91-90
edge with 3:50 to play. Iverson and Snow took over from there,
combining for 11 of Philadelphia's last 13 points.
"Allen and Eric, I don't think guards can play better than
that," Brown said.
Iverson, who made 12-of-28 shots and 11-of-11 free throws, sank
two from the line for a 93-90 lead with 3:22 remaining. On the
next trip, he found Snow for a jumper with 2:19 left.
Othella Harrington put home Houston's airball, but again Iverson
found Snow for a driving three-point play and a 98-92 advantage
with 1:30 to go. Snow made 10-of-17 shots and fell two points
shy of his career high matched Friday night vs. Indiana.
"I'm feeling pretty good and I'm looking for the shot," Snow
said. "I'm trying to create or create shots for other people.
I've been told to be more aggressive, but it's still situations
in games."