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Sixers ride huge night from Green to defeat Raptors

Apr 19, 2007 - 5:09 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- With their postseason fate already secure, the Toronto Raptors still had something play for in their regular season finale. The Philadelphia 76ers refused to idly stand by.

Willie Green scored a career-high 37 points and Andre Miller tied a season-high with 29 points as the Sixers downed the Raptors, 122-119, to avoid the season series sweep.

The Raptors, who have dropped two straight, failed in their last two attempts to set a franchise high for wins in one season. Despite having been eliminated from the playoff race last Saturday, the Sixers finished their season by winning five of their last seven contests.

"I was aware that I was close (to his career high)," Green said. "I wasn't really even gunning for it. I was just playing well and shots were falling for me. Anytime I hit two backboard shots, things are falling.

"It was definitely fun, it was one of those games where both teams are at the end of the season. Both teams really played hard and put on a show on for the fans. The good thing for us is that we came out with the win. We didn't let Toronto get their franchise record in wins, so we had something to play for. That's the way basketball is supposed to be played and the way you are supposed to finish out the season."

Philadelphia's Joe Smith added a season-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to register his second straight double-double. Bobby Jones also tallied a season-high 14 points.

After the Raptors narrowed the deficit to 112-111 with 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, Green nailed two of his five 3-pointers in a 59-second stretch to key a 6-1 run and give the Sixers a 118-112 lead with just over a minute remaining. Toronto was unable to recover despite seven points from Luke Jackson in the final 1:01.

"Our game was indicative of the way we played in the second half (of the season)," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We could have just laid down, said the season was over and just packed it in but our guys are looking forward to next year. We only had eight guys tonight, every guy that stepped on the floor gave what he had and there was a lot of strange lineups out there. They are a good basketball team and they had guys trying to win the game, so I'm really proud of our guys."

Jackson, signed less than a month ago by the Raptors, scored a career-high 30 points and Chris Bosh added 23 for Toronto, which will face New Jersey - led by former Raptor Vince Carter - in the first round of the playoffs.

"I think things line up the way they're supposed to and this is a new beginning for us," Bosh said. "We've been talking about that all season and who better to play than the guy who helped build this organization up.

"Yeah, I want to play New Jersey. Honestly, I really don't care who we play but now that we know the matchup, I welcome it. They are a great opponent. They play good defense, they play good team basketball and we will have to be ready, of course. It all comes down to making plays. We have to believe in ourselves and go in and do what we have been doing all year."

Rookie Andrea Bargnani, the top overall pick, played in his first game since March 18 due to an appendectomy and had 15 points for Toronto.