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Raptors hand 76ers fifth straight loss

Apr 13, 2009 - 2:03 AM TORONTO (AP) -- As he looks ahead to the playoffs, Philadelphia guard Andre Miller figures Boston and Cleveland will "most likely" reach the Eastern Conference finals.

The way the 76ers are playing, it's not hard to see why Miller doesn't like his own team's chances.

Chris Bosh scored 22 points, Jose Calderon had 11 points and 11 assists, and the Toronto Raptors beat Philadelphia 111-104 on Sunday night, handing the 76ers their season-high fifth straight loss.

"You don't want to go on a losing streak around this time of the season, but it's happening," Miller said. "We're playing some good teams and we just can't get the wins."

Anthony Parker scored 18 points, Andrea Bargnani had 17 and Shawn Marion had 14 for the Raptors, who won for the first time in five games.

Louis Williams had 23 points and Andre Iguodala had 21 for Philadelphia, with Samuel Dalembert adding 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Miller and Marreese Speights each had 10 points for the 76ers, who have their first five-game losing streak since dropping seven in a row between Jan. 2-14, 2008.

The 76ers have clinched a playoff berth but won't last long if they can't turn things around in their final two regular season games, which come against the Cavaliers and Celtics. Philadelphia hosts Boston on Tuesday and visits Cleveland on Wednesday.

The tough schedule will let Philadelphia see how it measures up against the East's top seeds, but Miller has bigger concerns.

"We don't want to measure ourselves right now, we just want to try to figure out how we're going to carry ourselves in the playoffs as a team," Miller said. "It is a measuring stick to a point, but you can't really worry about what those teams are doing. They've accomplished a lot and most likely they'll be in the conference finals. We'll see what happens."

Beforehand, Miller pegged the game as the most important of the season so far for the 76ers, then he didn't deliver, shooting 2-for-14 in 33 minutes.

He wasn't the only Sixer to struggle. Philadelphia coach Tony DiLeo said the whole team took "a step back."

"Overall, I didn't like our chemistry on the court or how we were in synch on the court, both offensively and defensively," DiLeo said. "We weren't on the same page."

Williams said chemistry isn't the 76ers' problem.

"We're 80 games in," Williams said. "If we don't have chemistry by now, this is how we're going to play."

The Sixers are no stranger to slumps: They've had three other four-game losing streaks this season.

"This is kind of familiar territory with this team," Williams said. "We get ourselves in a little bit of a rut and then we come out swinging and we end up winning some games. Losing (five) in a row going into the playoffs may not necessarily be a bad thing for our team."

Leading 81-80 after three quarters, the Raptors opened the fourth with an 8-0 run. Philadelphia couldn't close the gap, and a 7-0 Toronto spurt, capped by Quincy Douby's 3-pointer, gave the Raptors a 102-88 edge with 5:45 remanning.

The 76ers called a timeout, then got two 3-pointers from Iguodala and a pair of free throws from Miller. After Bargnani's dunk, Williams and Miller each made two more from the line, making it 104-100 with 2:51 left.

The Raptors didn't make another field goal the rest of the way, but Bosh, Calderon and Marion went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to help Toronto seal it.

The Raptors have won seven of their past 11, but Bosh doesn't want his teammates feeling like a strong finish redeems a poor start that will see Toronto finish out of the playoffs for the first time in three years.

"Just because we're good on paper right now doesn't mean anything," Bosh said. "It would be a shame and a waste of this season to do the same thing next season."

Philadelphia scored the first five points of the game, but Toronto answered with an 11-2 run and led 27-22 after the first period.

The 76ers went back in front in the second, forcing Toronto to call time out after three consecutive 3-pointers by Royal Ivey gave Philadelphia a 46-39 lead. Marion had four points as the Raptors closed the second quarter on an 8-1 run, tying it at 53 at the break.