PHILADELPHIA - Doug Collins had seen enough. The Philadelphia 76ers missed three shots, turned the ball over and had their lead cut to three in the opening minutes of the second half, causing their coach to call time out and remind them they were a better team than that.
"I think the pulse beat of the team needed a little dose of, 'Let's go,"' Collins said.
And off they went.
Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday also scored 14 points to lead the Sixers to their fourth straight win, 97-62 over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
Lou Williams scored 13 points, and rookie Nikola Vucevic had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers. A year after starting 3-13, the Sixers are 5-2 and the early leaders in the Atlantic Division.
Andre Bargnani had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnson had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors (3-5), who lost 97-85 to the Nets on Friday.
Jose Calderon had seven points, seven assists and three rebounds for Toronto.
The Sixers blew the game open in the third quarter, using a 30-8 run to build a 25-point lead.
"The third quarter just did us in," said Toronto coach Dwane Casey. "Things just snowballed. It was more fatigue than lack of effort, but you can't use that as an excuse."
Philadelphia won their fourth game already by 20-plus points and allowed the second-fewest points by an opponnent since the start of the 1985-86 season. They held Portland to 60 in 2003.
"It's just the nature of an NBA team to go on runs," Iguodala said. "Out of the timeout, we set something up, got a good luck and then kind of settled down and got some stops on defence. The defence just settled in and we got our adjustment on right out of the gate. We just got to running."
Iguodala said after the game he is among 18 players vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
"It would be incredible, not ever really thinking that I could be there as a kid," he said.
Elton Brand heard whistles from the crowd after he was forced to change jerseys on the court because of a rip on the back of his 42. Toronto's Amir Johnson yanked at the 4 and ripped the numeral right off.
Johnson had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors.
The Sixers turned a methodical game into a rout after a sizzling third quarter that led to their second win in two nights. Iguodala nailed a three-pointer during an 11-0 opening spurt that ignited the 30-8 run. Holiday added a 3 during the game-changing charge and the young, energetic Sixers were alley-ooping and fastbreaking their way to a win.
The Sixers went 15 for 40 from the floor in the first half. Led by Holiday and a flawless 4 of 4 from Thaddeus Young, the Sixers made 12 of 23 shots in the third (52 per cent) and raced to a 25-point lead. Young scored 12 points.
One night after holding Detroit to 0 for 10 shooting from 3-point range, the Raptors were a measly 1 for 12.
Ed Stefanski, the former general manager who put this Sixers team together, watched this blowout as a member of Toronto's organization. Stefanski was fired after four seasons and quickly landed with the Raptors as executive vice-president of basketball operations.
Stefanski hired Collins, who led the Sixers to the playoffs last season, but it was too late to save his job.
More wins like this might have helped him.
"You can't use the word patience in the city of Philadelphia, which I never used," Stefanski said before the game. "You can't use the word rebuilding."
While the Sixers could use that true superstar who can carry them to championship contention, the lean years appear over. The Sixers have a pool of seven players who can all score in double figures in every game. This one was no exception.
The lone cause of concern came in the second half when leading rebounder Spencer Hawes sat out all but 2 minutes. He was spotted on the bench with a wrap over his jersey around his midsection. Hawes strained his back and hoped to play Monday against Indiana.
The only hole in their game was in Brand's jersey.
Johnson grabbed the stitched 4 and gave it a good yank with his right hand as he ran away from Brand. He ripped the top part of the 4 off the jersey, leaving the number flapping in the air.
Brand removed his jersey and was briefly shirtless as the crowd whistled and catcalled at their power forward.
"It was kind of embarrassing," Brand said. "As long as they didn't start throwing money I was fine."
He was all smiles -- and so were the Sixers fans who bellowed "First place!" after the final horn.
Notes: Philly's four-game winning streak matches its longest winning streak from last season. ... The Sixers completed the first of 16 back-to-backs. ... The Raptors had been the best defensive team, holding teams to .397 (219 of 552) shooting. The Sixers shot 43 per cent.
