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.
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Iverson dishes 15 assists on top of 44 points in one-sided affair
Allen Iverson feels right at home just in time for the Denver Nuggets' big road trip.
Iverson scored 44 points and dished out 15 assists in leading the Nuggets to their fourth straight win, a 131-107 blowout of the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.
Carmelo Anthony augmented Iverson's night by adding 29 points in the duo's best performance since the holiday trade that brought them together three months ago.
Now, the surging Nuggets hit the road for five straight games and eight of their next nine.
"This does a lot for our confidence," Iverson said. "To win four games in a row, you get a certain swagger about your game."
The Nuggets have quite the saunter thanks to their red-hot superstars.
Iverson made 16-of-22 shots from the field and Anthony was 13-for-20. And many of the shots were alley-oop dunks and rim-rattling jams that were the product of the Nuggets' suddenly stingy defense.
"They made every shot in the world," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They are hard to handle when Anthony and Iverson are coming at you like that. They are hard to handle on any night."
At one point, both Iverson and Anthony were 12-for-16 from the floor.
"When you're in a zone, it doesn't matter if guys are on you or anything," Iverson said. "It just feels good. It just feels like throwing rocks in an ocean."
The Suns have lost twice -- by a combined 46 points -- since their 129-127 double-overtime win at Dallas on Wednesday night. They lost to Detroit 105-83 Friday night, which D'Antoni blamed on emotional exhaustion.
"We're still feeling it," Steve Nash said. "It was a big win. We have to get back to the way we were before that game."
The Suns, who got 25 points from Leandro Barbosa, never led in this one and fell behind by 38 points entering the fourth quarter against a team that they might face in the first round of the playoffs next month.
"We didn't have any energy," Nash said. "They played with a lot of heart and energy and we weren't. So I didn't see any way we were going to get back into the game."
Anthony had 19 points by halftime and Iverson had 13 points and 10 assists at the break as the Nuggets took a 70-44 lead into the locker room. Iverson's drive to the basket made it 111-73 heading into the fourth quarter.
"That's another confidence booster for us," Anthony said. "To beat a team like that. You know one of the top teams, if not the top team. To beat a team like that is really a great deal for us. So we can take that momentum from this game and from the previous three games and take it on the road with us."
The Suns had won 24 of 28 road games and had gone 9-1 against Denver in their past 10 meetings. They trailed 37-25 after one quarter and it only got worse from there in what was easily the Nuggets' best game of the season.
The Nuggets shot 68 percent in the first half and the Suns shot just 33 percent.
"They played great," D'Antoni said. "We're in a little bit of a funk right now. Discombobulated. We have the regroup a little bit."
Denver has struggled all season to get any cohesion because of injuries, illnesses, trades and suspensions. The Nuggets have started to put it together lately, and this was the night it finally all came together for them.
Anthony drew the foul and some of the loudest cheers of the night when his third attempt at a putback resulted in the whistle, and his two free throws made it 109-73 in the waning seconds of the third quarter.
Iverson said the Nuggets knew they'd have to start quickly and play relentless defense.
"That team can blow you out and they can score in bunches," he said.
For once, it was the opposition that did both.
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