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Bosh's 3-pointer stuns 76ers, gives Raptors win

Nov 9, 2006 - 2:47 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Chris Bosh apparently has added the 3-pointer to his repertoire.

Bosh tracked down a loose ball and buried a 3-pointer over Chris Webber with 6.1 seconds left, giving the Toronto Raptors a seesaw 106-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

There were eight lead changes and 11 ties in the fourth quarter, including five and three in the final 2:35. The last tie came at 102-102 with 29 seconds remaining on a jump hook by Webber, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

On the next possession, the Raptors tried to go to Bosh, but the pass was poked away by Webber. The All-Star tracked down the loose ball, dribbled to the arc and pulled up for a 3-pointer that splashed through despite a strong challenge by Webber.

"He didn't give me much room," Bosh said. "I wanted to take a shot that was on balance so as soon as I let it go, I knew it was in."

"They played good defense, they took us out of the play we wanted," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "We wanted Chris to get the ball, but obviously not at half-court."

It was the second 3-pointer of the game for the 6-11 Bosh, who has a good mid-range jumper but was just 8-of-38 from the arc in three-plus seasons in the NBA. He had 29 points and 14 rebounds.

"It's not what I had in mind," Bosh said. "The first shot was more of a wide-open look and the second shot was more desperation than anything."

Bosh spent the summer working on extending his range.

"He told me last summer he wanted to work (on his 3-point shooting)," Mitchell said. "He said he was going to shoot threes this year. I told him OK. He worked on it. He hit two tonight."

"It was a good shot," Sixers guard Allen Iverson said. "I don't want to say that he just threw it up there because I have seen him make the shot before. It was a good shot and those are the kind of shots you need from your star player to win basketball games."

The Raptors fouled 3-point threat Kyle Korver before he could shoot. His two free throws made it 105-104, and the 76ers had a chance when Jose Calderon missed the second of two foul shots with 5.1 seconds to go.

Andre Iguodala grabbed the rebound and raced upcourt. He had a good look at a 3-pointer from the left side that hit the back iron and bounded away as time expired.

"I got a good look," Iguodala said. "(It) looked good on the way up. I thought it'd go a little long, but when I went up I thought it need a little extra leg. It ended up an inch too long."

Joey Graham scored 16 points off the bench for the Raptors, who had six players in double figures and improved to 2-1 on a four-game homestand. Graham had scored just three points in the first three games.

"Coach told me that he was going to need me tonight and I just decided that I was going to come to the game and play hard," Graham said. "I am always confident and coming in from last year I've really learned a lot and grown up a lot. I came in tonight knowing that I was going to hit some shots and play some good D, which is exactly what I did."

Iverson had 35 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, who have lost two in a row after opening the season with three straight wins. Philadelphia came in leading the NBA in 3-point shooting but made just 3-of-12 from the arc.

With 7:47 left in the second quarter, Iverson drove the lane, scored and was fouled. The basket gave him 19,248 points and moved him past Dolph Schayes into second place on the franchise's all-time list.

Bosh scored 13 points in the first quarter, helping Toronto open a 28-21 lead it carried into the third period.

"I try to set a tone every game," Bosh said. "The tone is to try and attack the basket early and try to get to the free-throw line."

Philadelphia took its first lead at 56-54 midway through the third quarter on a steal and layup by Samuel Dalembert, who had season highs of 13 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. Neither team led by more than four points thereafter, and it was a one-possession game for all but 16 seconds of the final period.

"That's how the NBA works," Raptors guard T.J. Ford said. "It's going to come down to a couple of possessions to win the game. Tonight we came up with a couple possessions and scored the ball and then came up with a couple big stops to win the game."

The lefthanded Bosh made a driving righthanded shot to give the Raptors a 100-98 lead before Iverson answered with a jumper with 42 seconds to play. Ford got inside for a reverse layup, but Webber's hook tied it for the last time.