Carter outshines Iverson in Raptors Game Six win
( 2001-05-19 14:10 ) (7 )

Vince Carter piled on 39 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 101-89 Friday, forcing a deciding Game Seven in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Performing well under pressure is nothing new to Carter this postseason, as he scored 59 points in the final two games of the first round against New York when Toronto rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take the series.

On Friday, Carter made 17-of-31 shots, including four 3-pointers, as he won his scoring duel with Allen Iverson.

Iverson, who was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player on Wednesday, finished with 20 points on 6-of-24 shooting.

"We knew they were going to come out ready to play," Carter said. "It was a good team effort and that's how we have to do it. It's a great series to be a part of, but we have one more to go."

Game Seven is on Sunday in Philadelphia.

Carter's graduation ceremonies at the University of North Carolina also are on Sunday, but he has other celebration plans.

"It is anybody's game," Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said. "I told them that the sky's the limit but we have to play our game."

The Raptors jumped on Philadelphia as Carter and rookie Morris Peterson each had 3-pointers in an 8-0 spurt for an 18-7 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.

A 10-2 spurt, featuring a pair of baskets by Carter, gave the Raptors their largest first-half lead at 52-33 with 1" Toronto led, 54-39, at halftime.

A basket by Antonio Davis gave Toronto a 65-53 lead with 7:37 to go in the third quarter when Philadelphia finally came alive, thanks to its defense.

The Raptors were held to just one field goal the rest of the quarter and Iverson scored 12 of his points in the period as the 76ers climbed within 70-68.

But Peterson opened the fourth quarter with a pair of 3-pointers and Carter took over down the stretch to put away Philadelphia. Consecutive baskets by Carter gave Toronto a 91-78 advantage.

"We need everybody to respond and play hard with intensity," Carter said. "When everybody is scoring, we are a tough team to stop."

After a basket by Charles Oakley, Carter nailed a long 3-pointer and hit a short bank shot for a 98-78 lead with 3:19 left. Iverson was substituted 13 seconds later after making just 1-of-6 shots in the fourth quarter.

Peterson scored a career playoff-high 17 points and Davis added 17 and 13 rebounds for Toronto, which came off a franchise playoff-worst 33-point defeat in Game Five on Wednesday.

Aaron McKie scored 19 points and Tyrone Hill added 13 for Philadelphia, which fell to 1-4 at Air Canada Centre this season.

"Vince did a great job of being patient and he is incredibly fast, so when he is patient, he makes more shots," Wilkens said.

"I got open looks but they just didn't go in," Iverson said. "They did a good job of double-teaming me tonight. As a team, we didn't play well defensively and that's why we lost."