76ers Can't Hold Lead as Raptors Spring Past

The 76ers might want to go into halftime behind if they want to turn their season around.

Playing with a big lead has only led to big losses -- and has coach Eddie Jordan's job on the rocks. Chris Bosh and the Raptors were only the latest team to rally from a double-digit deficit and beat Philadelphia.

Bosh made the go-ahead three-point play with 8.4 seconds left and had 29 points and nine rebounds to lead Toronto to a 108-106
victory over the 76ers on Friday night.

Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points to help the Raptors rally from a 13-point hole and win their third straight.

The Sixers have led by 10-plus points in each of their last three losses and are 7-8 this season when they hold a double-digit
lead at any point.

The 76ers wasted an 18-point lead in a loss to Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards on Tuesday. They watched an 11-point halftime lead evaporate against the Raptors in the third quarter.

"We're jumping out and holding leads and we just can't hold them,'' guard Allen Iverson said. "We play well for a while and then it seems we just lose focus.''

Bosh was fouled by Sixers center Samuel Dalembert on a drive to the basket and made the twisting, off-balance layup. He sank the
free throw for a 108-106 lead. Lou Williams' last-chance 3-pointer was off the mark, dropping the Sixers to 4-12 at home.

"We fight to the end, but for whatever reason, it never happens,'' Williams said.

Before the game, Sixers team president Ed Stefanski refused to say Jordan's job was safe for the rest of the season with the team
off to a 10-25 start. Andre Iguodala fell just shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Williams scored 23 points and Iverson had a season-high 22. Sixers forward Elton Brand missed the game with a stomach virus.

Young's driving layup late in the fourth rolled off the front of the rim, but a charging Dalembert was there for the dunk that gave the Sixers a 106-105 lead. Bosh finished off the Sixers from the inside after the Raptors rallied from the outside.

"Sam is a good defender,'' Bosh said of the winner. "I just had to size him up and see what he was going to do.''

The Raptors, who have made a 3-pointer in 897 straight games, hit their first ones of the game in the third on back-to-back 3s from Jarrett Jack and Bargnani that sliced the deficit under 10. Marco Belinelli capped an 11-3 run with his first 3 of the game that tied it at 83. Jrue Holiday's baseline jumper helped send the Sixers into the fourth with a small lead.

It didn't last long.

The only surprise was how long it took the Raptors to start making 3s after an 0-for-5 first half. The Sixers are last in the
NBA in 3-point defense, allowing teams to shoot a whopping 42 percent against them.

The Raptors finished 5 for 15 from long range -- but each one in the second half did in the Sixers.

It's losses like this one that have Stefanski refusing to endorse Jordan. But Stefanski held the entire organization accountable for a slide that has left the Sixers with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

"It's not just the head coach,'' Stefanski said before tip-off.

"It's the coaches, the players and myself. No one is happy here."

Stefanski, who has yet to turn the Sixers into contenders in 2-plus seasons as president and general manager, took some of the blame for the woeful start.

"If you're looking at the record, I haven't done a real good job so far,'' he said.

Jordan might be running out of time to get the Sixers turned around.

"We're not getting the job done and we're going to have to get it done,'' Stefanski said.

Notes: Iverson returns to Detroit on Saturday for the first time since leaving the Pistons over the summer. Iverson was unhappy with being reduced to a bench player and missed most of the second half of last season with a back injury. ... Jordan and Stefanski refused to comment on the team's rules on gambling on team flights.

"Whatever the NBA tells us, we'll follow the rules,'' Stefanski said. "I'm sure the commissioner is thinking and talking about it,
but I have no mandate or anything from him.''