Ratliff Lifts Philly Over Celts

Theo Ratliff provided the Philadelphia 76ers with a shot of confidence as they pulled into a three-way tie for fifth place in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoff race.

Ratliff's layup with 7 seconds remaining gave Philadelphia an 80-78 win Wednesday night as they rallied in the final minute for their fourth win in five games.

Allen Iverson had 25 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, as the 76ers inched closer to their first playoff appearance in eight years.

"I've been struggling, but my team has been doing a great job to help us win games," Iverson said.

Paul Pierce had 20 points while Greg Minor added 14 for Boston, which lost its third straight.

"The lesson to be learned right now is that you've got people hurt and this basketball team is still playing hard," Celtics coach Rick Pitino said. "If we can play with this much heart with this group at this point, we will be a terrific basketball team in the future."

Prior to Wednesday's game, the Celtics placed guard Kenny Anderson on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. He joined Bruce Bowen, Popeye Jones and Pervis Ellison on the list.

For Philadelphia, Matt Geiger had 17 points and 15 rebounds.

"I tried to play hard and aggressive all night," Geiger said. "They were scrambling all around, which allowed me to get some points tonight."

Pierce's consecutive 3-pointers gave Boston its final lead of the night, 78-76, with 1:05 left.

"We were one or two seconds away from winning this one," Pierce said. "I was feeling it tonight in the fourth quarter. I told Dana (Barros) to kick out whenever he had a chnce to me."

Pierce missed an 8-foot jump shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Aaron McKie's jump shot capped an 8-1 run as the Sixers took a 67-60 lead with 6:58 left in the game. Boston cut it to 67-66 when Barros made two free throws with 5:47 remaining.

Iverson's 3-pointer put the 76ers back on top, 74-69, at the 4:40 mark.

Larry Hughes scored six points in an 8-2 76ers charge in the final three minutes of the third quarter, including a slam dunk with 6.6 seconds on the clock, and the teams were tied at 59 after three.

Tony Battie scored nine points off the bench for Boston, which held a 44-39 lead at the half.

Notes: The Celtics activated center Eric Riley on the injured list prior to the game. ... Ron Mercer (lower back spasms) and Antoine Walker (sprained left ankle) were in street clothes on the Celtics bench. ... Philadelphia forward Tyrone Hill was in Cincinnati because of a family illness. ... The 76ers entered the game ranked first in the NBA in steals with an average of 10.6 per game. They had 10 Wednesday night.

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