It didn't take long for Theo Ratliff to make
his presence felt for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Sidelined with a stress fracture in his left ankle for the first
six games of the season, Ratliff returned with 17 points, eight
rebounds and a key blocked shot as the 76ers held off the
Toronto Raptors, 93-90.

"I wanted to get to a point where I was healthy enough to make a
contribution," Ratliff said. "Tonight I felt great. Everything
is going well. I enjoyed being out there.

"Theo was a presence the whole game," 76ers coach Larry Brown
said.

The 6-10 forward started at center and triggered a 12-2 burst in
the fourth quarter that was fueled by Allen Iverson, who scored
eight of his 30 points in the pivotal stretch. Iverson has
scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games, with the
Sixers (3-4) winning three.

"Theo back gave us confidence, especially being on the road,"
Iverson said. "We feel with Theo, we can't be beat at home or on
the road."

Toronto's Vince Carter scored a season-high 27 points but had a
layup blocked by Ratliff and missed a potential tying 3-pointer
in the final seconds. The cold-shooting Raptors trailed by 19
points in the third quarter and had a four-game winning streak
snapped.

"It was a fight from start to finish and they won," Carter said.
"We were missing shots early and they were getting fast breaks
and making their layups and jump shots. We still fought hard to
come back. But we ran out of gas at the end. We just have to
bounce back."

Losers of its first four road games, Philadelphia took a 75-66
lead into the fourth quarter but had six turnovers in the first
four minutes of the period. A jumper by Carter completed a 9-1
surge and pulled the Raptors within 76-75 with 8:08 to go.

Ratliff took an alley-oop pass from Iverson and dunked to start
the decisive run. Iverson and Toronto's Dell Curry traded
baskets before Philadelphia's Eric Snow scored with 6:46 left.
Iverson made a four-point play and a fast-break layup to widen
the lead to 88-77 with 5:48 remaining.

"I thought we played great, except for seven or eight minutes,"
Brown said. "We took bad shots and had turnovers. We knew
Toronto was going to make a run at us and we got upset. But we
made some big shots."

Two 3-pointers by Curry, who scored 13 points, helped Toronto
peck away at the deficit. Ratliff's layup with 1:26 left gave
Philadelphia a 92-87 lead and Carter answered with a pair of
free throws.

Carter and Snow traded a free throw apiece before Carter had his
drive blocked by Ratliff, who was third in the league in blocks
last season. Snow lost the deflection out of bounds with 7.5
seconds left but Carter and Alvin Williams missed 3-pointers
before the horn sounded.

"We knew they'd try to get a quick basket and I was patrolling
the lane," Ratliff said.

"Theo is a very good player when he's healthy," Raptors coach
Butch Carter said. "He gives them a presence in the middle that
they haven't had."

George Lynch scored 12 points and Snow added eight, 11 assists
and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who shot 44 percent
(37-of-84) from the field. Iverson made 4-of-5 3-pointers and
added seven rebounds and six assists.

Doug Christie scored 19 points for the Raptors, who shot just 37
percent (29-of-78), negating a 27-14 edge in made foul shots.

Iverson scored 12 points and Ratliff and Lynch 10 apiece as the
Sixers grabbed a 55-45 halftime lead. Iverson framed a 9-0 run
to open the third quarter with a 3-pointer and jumper, pushing
Philadelphia's lead to 64-45 with 8:25 remaining.

"We played solid defense," Iverson said. "It was important to
get an early lead. It gave us confidence."

"They got the lead early and it gave them confidence," said
Raptors forward Charles Oakley, who was held scoreless. "Being
down by 19 is a lot at home. We just didn't get the job done. We
really haven't done anything yet. We have a good team but we
have to be consistent if we want to be an elite team in this
league."

Consecutive baskets by Christie closed the period and capped a
9-2 burst that cut Toronto's deficit to nine points.