The New York Knicks got their first look at Dikembe Mutombo in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform. In the end, they saw enough of Allen Iverson.
Without center Marcus Camby to provide his shot-blocking prowess, the Knicks had no second line of defense for Philadelphia's electrifying guard and suffered an 89-82 loss to the 76ers.
The absence of Camby became pronounced in the final minutes after Latrell Sprewell scored eight straight points to pull the Knicks within 79-77.
But Iverson would not let his team fall apart. He hit a 19-foot jumper over Sprewell from the left sideline with 2:57 left.
On New York's next two possessions, the intimidation factor of the 7-foot-2 Mutombo caused Kurt Thomas to go too strong off the backboard on a running layup and Sprewell had a layup attempt partially blocked by George Lynch.
"They did a good job of coming on the weak side to help on the one drive that I had," Sprewell said. "Lynch got a piece of it. And the one Kurt (Thomas) had, Dikembe's presence was felt on that play. Those were two baskets we could have used down the stretch."
Philadelphia's Aaron McKie drove to the basket and converted a layup over Thomas to increase the lead to 83-77 with 2:03 remaining.
Allan Houston, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with a thigh bruise, hit a jumper while he was fouled by Eric Snow and made the free throw to complete the three-point play, pulling the Knicks within 83-80 with 1:41 left.
After a Philadelphia turnover, the Knicks had a chance to tie it but a 3-point attempt by Sprewell rimmed out.
Iverson then isolated on Sprewell at the top of the key, blew right by him and hit a floater in the lane over Glen Rice -- a far cry from a shot-blocking presence like Camby -- with 49 seconds remaining.
"The little kid (Iverson) made two big shots and when they got it within two we made defensive stops," said Sixers coach Larry Brown.
"We played hard enough to win, we just didn't play well enough to win," said Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. "When the game got tight, Iverson made shots."
Snow and Kevin Ollie each hit a pair of free throws in the final 26 seconds for Philadelphia (55-25), which has already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"The guys understand that if I'm going well, I'm going to have the ball in my hand," Iverson said. "If any team doubles me or tries to take something away from me, my teammates are going to make shots. If we do that, we'll be alright going into the playoffs."
The San Antonio Spurs have earned homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Sixers are still competing with teams like Sacramento (54-25) and the Los Angeles Lakers (54-26) for the homecourt in a possible NBA Finals matchup.
The Knicks squandered an opportunity to tie Miami for the seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat, which lost at home to Orlando, 90-73 on Sunday, lead the Knicks by one game with two games left in the regular season.
If the Knicks go into the playoffs as the fourth seed, they would play the Sixers in the second round if both teams advance.
"If we play with that type of effort and energy, it doesn't matter who we play," Sprewell said. "If we do the right things on the floor, it's about us and not who we're playing."
Iverson finished with 27 points. Mutombo was the major reason why the Sixers outrebounded the Knicks, 49-33, grabbing 16 boards.
"I am encouraged when we win with defense and rebounding," Brown said. "That is the only way this team is going to survive."
Camby, New York's 6-11 center, suffered a hip contusion in New York's loss at Indiana last Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for a week.
Sprewell scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for New York.
Houston had 15 points, but missed 11-of-16 shots. Rice was just 4-of-11 from the field.
"We had a lot of wide-open shots, but the ball wasn't going in," Rice said. "You're going to have games like that."
The Knicks raced to a 16-6 lead as the Sixers missed 11 of their first 12 shots.
But Iverson hit a pair of jumpers and two layups and McKie added five points as the Sixers responded with a 13-4 run to pull within 20-19. Rice ended the quarter with a layup for New York
heat vs lakers next game 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最讚貼文
Vince Carter versus Allen Iverson is the kind of marquee matchup the NBA has been craving since the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
As two of the NBA's most exciting young stars, they are dazzling spectators and TV viewers with limitless creativity and breathtaking moves in the Toronto Raptors-Philadelphia 76ers playoff series.
"This matchup is great, and people are getting turned on to it," said NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik, who was at Philadelphia's First Union Center on Wednesday night, when Iverson scored 54 points to Carter's 28 in the 76ers' 97-92 victory. "For better or worse, fans like it when you get superstars going against each other. People have been hearing about these guys for years now, but they haven't gotten this far before where they met each other at this level. That gets people interested."
"This is special because they both have their teams on their backs," 76ers president and part-owner Pat Croce said. "They're great basketball players, but more than that, they're exciting. They add an element of surprise when they get the ball. You don't know what's going to happen. They bring that anticipation and enthusiasm and they smile at the fans and interact with them. That's what the NBA needs. That's what we want. I want the people going nuts when Carter does something. I just want him doing it less than Allen."
That certainly was the case in Wednesday night's game as Iverson set a 76ers single-game playoff scoring record. Many of Carter's baskets were more spectacular, but Iverson was relentless in going to the basket.
"I didn't want to settle for anything," Iverson said. "I went and took what I wanted."
Even Carter acknowledged Iverson after the game.
"He did the job, that's for sure, but the series is not over," Carter said.
With the NBA's overall popularity declining and new rules designed to make the game more appealing set to take effect next season, an Iverson-Carter matchup is what the league really needed.
"Watching these two kids, I don't think our league is in any trouble," 76ers coach Larry Brown said. "They really are exciting."
"I think you are going to see more great individual matchups as the young kids we have in this league develop," he said. "We are always rushing to fix this and fix that, but maybe there is not always something wrong. The young guys have to be able to grow and make some mistakes. Let them grow up and then see what they can do. In this series, you are seeing two of the best going at each other."
It is looking increasingly likely that Michael Jordan will end a three-year retirement next season and return to the NBA as a player. Carter and Iverson will be right there, eagerly awaiting that matchup.
"You always want to test yourself against the best, and I would welcome the challenge," Iverson said.
Said Carter of Jordan: "He set the standard we are all trying to reach."
Jordan, of course, owns six championship rings and 10 scoring titles, while Carter, 24, has won nothing more than a rookie of the year award and a slam-dunk title. But Carter is one of the league's most popular players among fans, the leading vote-getter for the past two NBA All-Star Games. Iverson, 25, won his second scoring title this season and is favored to win this season's most valuable player award, as well.
"We try to promote the game and the teams and all the players," Granik said. "There are just certain players who capture people's imaginations. You can't deny that.
"We can't go out and create them. It just happens and they're doing it on the court. You can't make superstars, I don't care how good a promotion. It's what they do on the court, and here we have Iverson and Carter. They're doing it most nights on the floor. That's what people see and they love to watch it."
Iverson tough, Carter soft?
Carter and Iverson have had their share of critics since each was designated "the next Michael Jordan" — something that occurred shortly after they entered the league.
One thing that has never been questioned, however, is Iverson's toughness. He plays while hurt and is one of the league's most resilient players despite getting knocked down and run over on a regular basis. At a spindly 6-0, 165 pounds, he just keeps getting up.
"You can question a lot of things about Allen but not his heart," Brown says. "The kid wants to win and will give up his body to do it."
The 6-6, 225-pound Carter on the other hand has been labeled as soft. He isn't as tough as Iverson and when he hits the floor he doesn't bounce up as quickly. He gets criticized for settling for three-point shots instead of driving strong to the basket. In Wednesday night's game, Iverson repeatedly drew fouls and shot nine free throws; Carter never got to the line.
heat vs lakers next game 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最佳解答
Allen Iverson bounced back from a rare
subpar effort and scored 39 points as the Philadelphia 76ers
posted a 114-110 victory over the Indiana Pacers, who have
suffered consecutive losses for the first time in 15 months.
Iverson, who leads the league in scoring at 28.1 points per
game, had only 14 in Monday's 74-73 loss to Orlando. Tonight,
he scored 10 in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia overcame an
eight-point deficit.
George Lynch had 21 points and Tyrone Hill added 17 for
Philadelphia, which defeated a team with a winning record for
only the fifth time in 13 games. The 76ers snapped a 10-game
losing streak against Indiana, defeating the Pacers for just the
second time since January 15, 1994.
"That was my first time beating Indiana," said Iverson. "It was
real special.
"I really wanted to get the win for coach. He hasn't beaten
them since he arrived here," Iverson said of Sixers coach Larry
Brown, who coached the Pacers for four seasons until 1997.
Iverson was then alerted to the fact that his team has never won
a game in which he scored 40 points.
"I was saying to myself, 'I hope I don't get over the 40 mark
and we lose.' Maybe God was sending me and the team a message,
when I score over 40 we can't win so I'll take the 39 any day
for a win."
"(Iverson) is playing with a lot of confidence," said Pacers
center Rik Smits. "He has the green light to do anything he
wants. When you let him go, he's tough to guard. We like to
think we have a decent defense yet we still gave him almost 40
points."
Reggie Miller scored 27 points and Smits added 22 for Indiana,
which had not dropped two straight games since December 8-10,
1997. The Pacers lost for just the second time in their last
seven road games and fell to 6-4 away from home.
"Both teams went after it," said Miller. "This was more high
scoring than we expected. We thought it was going to be more of
a defensive game, but both teams lit it up from the offensive
end."
The 76ers opened the fourth quarter trailing 91-83 but used a
9-0 burst to seize the lead. Theo Ratliff drained a 16-footer
and Hill followed with a layup. Lynch, the goat in Monday's
loss, sank a long 3-pointer to get Philadelphia within 91-90.
Eric Snow's driving layup gave Philadelphia a one-point lead and
the advantage was never more than four points the rest of the
way. Miller sank a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds left to draw
Indiana within 112-110, but Snow sealed the victory with a pair
of free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining.
"The great thing about the league is playing again right away,"
said Lynch. "You get to forget about mistakes. You're only as
good as your next game and it was nice to see we could win a
close game."
In Monday's 74-73 loss to the Magic, Lynch threw away an
inbounds pass that allowed Orlando's Darrell Armstrong to hit
the game-winning layup as time expired.
Iverson showed early in the contest that his performance on
Monday was nothing more than a momentary lapse in an All-Star
season. He had 14 points in the first quarter as Philadelphia
led 27-24 after 12 minutes.
After allowing Philadelphia to shoot 67 percent (12-of-18) in
the opening quarter, Indiana turned the tables in the second.
The Pacers made 13-of-19 shots in the second quarter to pull
within 60-59 at the break.
Indiana opened the third quarter with a 13-4 burst, extending
its lead to 84-72 with 7:49 left. Two free throws by Miller
with 3:35 remaining gave the Pacers a nine-point edge.