Allen Iverson keeps scoring and the
Philadelphia 76ers keep winning.
One night after a 41-point effort in Philadelphia's most
lopsided win of the season, Iverson scored an NBA season-high
and career-best 54 in a 107-103 victory over the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
"It was like he was playing horse tonight," said 76ers guard
Aaron McKie, who had 20 points and nine assists. "His jumper
was deadly."
Using mostly jump shots, Iverson went 20-of-30 from the field.
He also hit 10-of-13 free-throw attempts en route to his third
career 50-point game and first since February 6 against
Sacramento.
"When your jumper is on, the basket seems like an ocean and the
basketball seems like a rock," he said. "That is the way it
felt tonight.
"My teammates are the ones that set the screens for me and got
me the ball in spots where I need the ball. My coach calls the
plays and I wouldn't set a career high without those guys."
The 1998-99 NBA scoring champion, Iverson broke his own Gund
Arena record for points. He has fond memories of this building,
having scored 50 points in a 125-118 loss in April 1997 after
being named Most Valuable Player of the rookie game at All-Star
Weekend that same year.
"Coming here is something special because I remember I came in
here and won the MVP of the rookie game in 1997," he said. "All
I heard was boos and didn't understand it. I always look
forward to coming back here to play in front of these people."
The 76ers extended their winning streak to six games and
improved the league's best record to 24-8. They have won eight
straight on the road, three shy of a franchise record.
Theo Ratliff chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks
for Philadelphia, which was coming off Friday night's 121-89
home rout of Seattle.
Despite Iverson's 54 points, the Sixers could not shake
Cleveland, which closed within 103-99 on a three-point play by
Lamond Murray with 67 seconds left but could not get any closer.
"I thought our guys gave what they could," coach Randy Wittman
said. "They ran into a guy that had it going tonight. I
thought we gave a great effort but just couldn't overcome his 54
points."
Andre Miller had 22 points and 14 assists for the Cavaliers, who
have lost three straight and eight of nine after a six-game
winning streak.
The Cavs got within four points five times before Miller capped
the scoring with a dunk, but the trio of Iverson, McKie and
Ratliff foiled them each time.
Murray's three-point play with 67 seconds left got Cleveland
within four points but Ratliff followed with a 15-footer and
Iverson added two free throws for a 107-99 lead with 22 seconds
to play.
Playing for the second straight night, the Sixers trailed 15-4
less than five minutes into the game. But Iverson scored eight
points and Ratliff added six during an 18-6 run that gave
Philadelphia a 27-25 lead after one period.
The Sixers never trailed again, leading by as many as 11 points
three times.
Iverson, McKie and Ratliff combined for 26 of 29 Sixers points
as they turned a 15-4 deficit into a 33-29 lead 3:15 into the
second quarter.
The lead hovered between five and 10 points until a layup by
Rodney Buford made it 55-44 with 73 seconds to play in the first
half. The Sixers took a 56-48 lead into the locker room behind
Iverson's 28 points.
Iverson scored Philadelphia's first 13 points of the third
quarter on a trio of jumpers, a 3-pointer, a three-point play
and a free throw for a 69-61 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left in the
period.
"He was amazing," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "He shot the
ball as well as you can shoot it because there weren't a lot of
easy shots. People had a hand in his face."
"What a Larry Brown team does really well is spread the floor
well for Allen," Cleveland guard Jim Jackson said. "It's really
hard to stop a guy like that on the perimeter."
