Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose helped the NBA's worst offense look much better.

Marshall scored a season-high 27 points and Rose had eight assists in their Toronto debuts to help the Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 95-88 on Tuesday night.

Vince Carter added 21 points and a career-high 12 assists as the Raptors, averaging only 78 points — reached 90 points for just the fourth time this season.

One day after finalizing a six-player trade that brought Marshall, Rose and Lonny Baxter from Chicago, Toronto led most of the way and had one of its highest shooting percentages of the season — 47.2 percent — while scoring at least 20 points in each quarter for the first time this season.

Marshall was 10-of-14 from the field and Alvin Williams was 6-for-6. Rose shot just 3-for-10, but repeatedly found open teammates while handling much of the ballhandling duties.

Carter reached a career high in assists by feeding Marshall for a 3-pointer with 2:47 left, giving the Raptors an 87-80 lead.

Philadelphia, led by Allen Iverson's 35 points, got no closer than four the rest of the way.

Iverson shot just 8-for-32 from the field and 18-for-23 from the line. He also had seven assists and seven rebounds.

Carter got his 11th assist with 4:41 left in the third quarter, but Toronto then went more than seven minutes without a field goal to allow the Sixers to pull within three. Philadelphia finally took its first lead since the first quarter on a layup by Kenny Thomas with 7:17 left that made it 76-75.

A corner jumper by Carter with 6:27 remaining gave the lead back to Toronto for good.

Notes:@ 76ers forward Marc Jackson fractured his left ring finger during the second quarter and did not return. He had 12 points and four rebounds in 12 minutes. ... Eric Snow of the 76ers needed five stitches to close a cut on his chin. ... Rose and Marshall both kept the same uniform numbers that they had in Chicago, but they had to pay two of their new teammates to get them. Rose would not disclose how much he paid Michael Bradley for No. 5, nor would Marshall say what he gave to Mengke Bateer for No. 42. "Those Europeans, they know how to negotiate," Marshall said of Bateer, who actually is Mongolian.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Sports News
+PLA: Chen is to blame if war breaks out ( 2003-12-03) +US actions spur on Taiwan separatists ( 2003-12-03) +Bloody business undermines public health ( 2003-12-03) +Private entrepreneurs gain political status ( 2003-12-03) +US urged to adhere to commitment on Taiwan ( 2003-12-03)		+Bryant's attorneys push for sealed records ( 2003-12-03) +Marshall gets 27 as Raptors stop 76ers ( 2003-12-03) +Haan: Tired Chinese squad not to expect too much ( 2003-12-03) +China fields 161-member delegation for Games ( 2003-12-03) +China to face Spain in first Athens match ( 2003-12-03)