76ers Savor Degree of Joy

PHILADELPHIA —  Tyrone Hill, the last line of defense for the Philadelphia 76ers, ran with his hands up and his voice loud, screaming, yelling, praying.

Vince Carter, the last and best hope for the Toronto Raptors, rose with two seconds left, the season hanging, one foot slightly ahead of the other in the air, the basketball firmly in his hands, his heart heading straight for his throat.

One jump shot, one game, one series, one season, all hanging there for Carter.

With fewer than two seconds left, his team trailing by one point, and still feeling the adrenaline rush he had from walking into the North Carolina football stadium to receive his college diploma Sunday morning, Carter took the biggest shot of his career.

Moments later, fireworks went off inside the First Union Center.

Carter’s shot was long, his day was ruined and the 76ers had an 88-87 victory that earned them a place against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Eastern Conference finals, which will begin here Tuesday.

Hill’s desperate defense didn’t matter. Carter got a good look. So good that Allen Iverson, the league’s most valuable player, thought the ball was going through the basket.

“I remember my heart beating real hard,” Iverson said. “I knew my feet were on the floor, but I felt like I was in the air. It looked good when the shot left his hands. But finally I saw that it was long. I think I started running off the court before it even hit the rim.”

When the shot was too hard, Iverson screeched, then scampered to hug his mother. Carter’s shoulders drooped and none of the Raptors ran to console him.

The weekend had been filled with debates, both here and in Toronto, about whether Carter should have left his team and flown to Chapel Hill on Saturday night to attend Sunday morning’s North Carolina graduation, then hop into a private jet to fly back to Philadelphia for the most important game in Toronto franchise history.

Carter owed his employer and his teammates his full attention. That’s how the debate began. Carter could get his diploma in the mail or attend a summer ceremony. Carter was the epitome of a selfish teammate, making the weekend all about him and not about the Raptors, some said.

Or was Carter doing a wonderful thing? Standing up for the importance of education and setting a great example for kids everywhere who would see that a college degree was as important as a Game 7. And if Carter made it to the game, what was all the fuss about?

Then the game started.

It wasn’t all about Carter or all about anyone.

It was about Toronto’s Antonio Davis, known for his tough defense and handy rebounding, scoring a game-high 23 points and continually making baseline jump shots whenever the 76ers threatened to open a comfortable lead.

It was about Philadelphia’s Aaron McKie, a man of class and few words, scoring his playoff high, 22 points, while accepting the role of shooting star because Iverson was always double-teamed.

It was about Toronto’s Charles Oakley, a veteran rebounding fiend, making four of eight shots, including a three-pointer, while contributing 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

It was about Philadelphia center Dikembe Mutombo, who can’t put the ball on the floor without having it stolen, who can’t shoot a jump shot or even get a rebound and go straight up for the follow, somehow accumulating 10 points and 17 rebounds so that his brash guarantee of a Game 7 victory did not taste rotten the morning after.

Finally, it was about Iverson and Carter.

It was about how Carter seemed listless on defense. Carter was mostly guarding McKie, who doesn’t have much foot speed, and McKie was often beating Carter off the dribble.

It was about Iverson, his 160 pounds bandaged and bruised, and how he took a hard fall early in the game, hurt his hip and struggled with his shot and came up with 16 assists. Iverson scored 21 points on eight-for-27 shooting, a statistic that his teammates won’t notice, not when he kept offering them passes in all the right places.

The 76ers almost always led--by as many as 13 points once but mainly in a range from four to eight. At halftime Philadelphia led, 50-42, but the Raptors had scored the last four points.

The 76ers led, 69-66, at the end of the third quarter, but the Raptors had taken a lead once, 65-64, and Carter seemed to be feeling more confident.

With 2:56 to play, the 76ers led, 88-82. Then Davis made a jump shot on the run and Iverson turned the ball over and Dell Curry made a three-point shot and Iverson missed a shot and there was Carter, his season in his hands on graduation day.

“It all came down to one shot,” Carter said. “It was going to be a very great day or a very terrible day.”

Carter said he might have been “a little winded” early in the game. He had arrived back in Philadelphia shortly after noon, having spent no more than 20 minutes wearing his cap and gown in Chapel Hill.

He finished with 20 points on six-for-18 shooting, seven rebounds and no regrets. “I did what I felt was right, what was right for me and my family,” Carter said.

Carter’s teammates did not criticize him. Coach Larry Brown praised Carter for setting a great example of understanding what was important. “It was neat what Vince did,” Brown said.

Brown thought it was neat what the 76ers did too. They played and won a Game 7 for the first time since 1986. No diplomas for that.