76ers' joy ride comes to end

TORONTO - Last night's 76ers loss to the Toronto Raptors had more turns than a soap opera.

In the first quarter, the 76ers and Raptors looked to be mired in a back-and-forth battle. A few minutes later, it was a Toronto dunk fest. Just after halftime, the Raptors appeared to be heading for a blowout; 20 minutes later, the thing was tied at 93. A minute after that, the Raptors had peeled off 11 straight points.

At the final buzzer, Toronto defeated the Sixers, 104-93.

The loss snapped the Sixers' winning streak of five games, sending them into the all-star break with a record of 20-32. Toronto improved to 29-23.

But last night's twists didn't end with the game's end. Power forward Elton Brand was clearly miffed.

"We weren't down enough to switch what we've been doing in a five-game win streak, you know what I mean?" Brand said.

Brand, who scored 21 points in Tuesday's win over Minnesota, did not start the third quarter and sat the first 10 minutes, 12 seconds of the period. Sixers coach Eddie Jordan went with a small lineup, starting guard Royal Ivey instead of Brand.

In the first four minutes, 41 seconds of the third quarter, Toronto's lead grew from 50-41 to 65-44.

"So, that's what we did and we paid for it," Brand continued. "We were down too much to fight back, even though we almost did."

With 10:53 left in the third, Toronto star Chris Bosh, who finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, threw down a lefthanded slam in transition that appeared to send Toronto on a breakaway path toward victory. In that quarter, the Raptors built a 23-point lead.

A Sixers loss seemed inevitable, but they battled back.

"We haven't played that poor of defense all year," said Jordan, referring to the 58 points in the paint, including at least a dozen slams, surrendered by his team.

Of the third quarter, Jordan said, "We couldn't make a shot, but it was a nine-point game. I went with a smaller lineup, so it backfired. It happens."

Brand said he "guessed" the strategy was to run on the Raptors, whose lineup boosts the 6-foot-10 Bosh and the 7-foot Andrea Bargnani.

"I don't call the shots," Brand said. "I just go out there and play the best I can. I didn't think it was my fault, but I'm easy to get pulled, it seems. . . . Maybe they're getting prepared for something else, I don't know. Maybe I won't be here."

Still, the Sixers surged back in the fourth. Thaddeus Young's layup with 2:06 left tied the score for the first time since the first quarter. Guard Lou Williams scored 26 points, 24 of those in the second half.

Less than 30 second's after Young's lay-in made it 93-93, Toronto guard Jose Calderon hit a left baseline three pointer, with the foul, giving his team all the breathing room it would need.

"It was one of those situations where we dug ourselves such a deep hole, [but] we fought our way back," said guard Willie Green. "Then down the stretch a couple of calls didn't go our way. It's a tough loss, especially to lose that way."