A lot of those questions about the heart of the Toronto Raptors were answered here last night in as delightful an NBA regular season game as you'll see in a long, long time.

Decimated by injuries, beset by foul trouble and facing the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors dug down to depths of heart heretofore unseen in an outstanding 100-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I'm proud of this team because we were able to stick it out," said Vince Carter, who played all 48 minutes, survived a nasty Dikembe Mutombo elbow to the gut, banged his left wrist in a second-quarter spill and still poured in a team-high 28 points.

"That's an important win."

And, in some ways, an unlikely one.