Raptors Crush 76ers

Without their scintillating and volatile star, the Philadelphia 76ers didn't even come close to winning Sunday.

Doug Christie scored 22 points and rookie Vince Carter had 20 Sunday as the Toronto Raptors trounced the Philadelphia 76ers, who were without Allen Iverson, 97-82.

The 76ers (16-16), who are ninth in the conference, fell two games behind the Raptors.

Iverson, who leads the league in scoring, didn't make the trip to Toronto after he and coach Larry Brown exchanged words on the sideline during Friday's game against Cleveland. Brown maintains the two agreed he would not make the trip so he could get treatment for a deep thigh bruise.

"Early on I don't think we believed we could win the game," Brown said.

It was pretty much over for the Sixers by the third quarter as the Raptors began the period with a 19-7 run that gave them a 24-point lead. Philadelphia closed within 13 in the fourth, but got no closer.

"We missed him a lot," Matt Geiger said. "Two weeks ago we were in fourth or fifth place and now we're in eighth or ninth. We've got to look inside ourselves."

Geiger 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Sixers, who have lost seven of their last 11 games. Aaron McKie and rookie Larry Hughes replaced Iverson and combined for 19 points on 7-for-22 shooting.

The Raptors shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the field as they won their eighth straight home game.

"When teams come into Toronto, they know we're not a pushover anymore," said Dee Brown, who was 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc.

The Raptors shot 59.4 percent in the first half and led 50-38 at intermission.

"Iverson's loss would have been less noticeable if we had played better defense," Geiger said.

Notes: In the last 2 1/2 seasons, Iverson has missed 10 games and the 76ers are 2-8. ... Asked before the game if the Iverson incident says anything about how the coaching profession has changed, Toronto coach Butch Carter said: "We made a concerted effort to clean up our players from a people standpoint without sacrificing talent. We drafted (Tracy) McGrady and (Vince) Carter and I don't think I'd ever have a problem like that with those two." ... Sixers forward Tyrone Hill did not make the trip to Toronto. Hill went to Cleveland to be with his father, who is ill. ... Charles Oakley received a standing ovation before tipoff for playing in his 1000th game. He has played 241 games with Chicago, 727 with New York and 32 with Toronto. ... Toronto shot 71.4 percent from the field in the first quarter.

©1999 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed