Allen Iverson was trying to stay with his
man on defense when he slammed full-force into Rasheed Wallace and
went sprawling to the floor.
Picking himself up and shaking off the aftershocks, Iverson came
downcourt on Philadelphia's next possession and used a quick
dribble and deft stutter-step to drive the lane and draw two
defenders, leaving Andre Iguodala open at the 3-point line.
Iverson flicked him a pass and Iguodala's shot went in, giving
Iverson another of his 15 assists and putting the Sixers ahead by
double digits midway through the fourth quarter of a 115-104
victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
"A.I. was phenomenal," said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who was
apprehensive beforehand at the prospect of Iverson having a
breakout game.
Turns out he had good reason to worry.
Iverson played one of the better playoff games of his nine-year
career, scoring 37 points and handing out five of his 15 assists in
the fourth quarter as the Sixers defeated the defending champions
for the first time in their best-of-seven series, cutting Detroit's
lead to 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday.
Iverson led the way as Philadelphia overcame an early 13-point
deficit and then played its best ball in the fourth quarter.
Detroit center Ben Wallace scored a career-high 29 points and
grabbed 16 rebounds, but the Pistons got only two points from their
reserves on a night when they had another 50-percent shooting
effort from the field -- the third time in the series they've made
at least half their shots.
Despite that accuracy, the Pistons couldn't find a way to stop
Iverson after holding him to 35-percent shooting in the first two
games. He finished 15-for-26 from the field, including 2-for-4 from
3-point range, and his assists were one shy of his career-best.
"The same shots he took in Detroit and missed were the same
shots he made tonight," Detroit's Richard Hamilton said. "Every
game Allen comes out he plays with that demeanor. Since I've been
in the league I've never played against him when he's said 'I'm
just going to show up."
Chauncey Billups started as the primary defender on Iverson, and
Hamilton took over the job later in the game. But even when the
Pistons managed to get the ball out of Iverson's hands, he was able
to find open teammates who were able to knock down shots.
Chris Webber scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter,
Rodney Rogers added 15 points, Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and
10 rebounds and Iguodala had 13 points and seven steals for
Philadelphia, which shot 55 percent.
Before the game, Brown said his inside knowledge of Iverson's
tendencies from their many seasons together were of no benefit.
"From a personal standpoint, when you know what someone like
that is capable of, it's not a comfortable feeling," Brown said.
"We all know what he does, and I haven't seen anybody stop him.
The reason we've been successful is we've stopped other people."
Iverson's 15th assist came on a pass to Webber for a jumper that
gave Philadelphia a 105-96 lead with 3:04 left, and Iverson sank a
3-pointer with 1:33 remaining to lock up the victory.
The game was Brown's first postseason appearance in the building
where he coached Iverson for six seasons and took the Sixers to the
NBA Finals in 2001 -- the year Iverson won the MVP award.
"That doesn't seem like a long time ago. Most of those games I
really remember, and he had a remarkable year, but I still think
this is his best one."
No game was more critical to Philadelphia than this one, and
Iverson would not let the 76ers fall into a 3-0 deficit no NBA team
has ever overcome. His 37 points eclipsed his career postseason
average of 30.4, second in NBA history behind Michael Jordan's
33.4.
"This is one game. We've got to feed off it," Iverson said.
"We didn't just play defense, we played offense, too."
detroit pistons coach history 在 pennyccw Youtube 的精選貼文
PHILADELPHIA — Allen Iverson, with his tattoos, cornrows and hip-hop persona, ended up in the center of a celebratory group hug with the fans in the expensive courtside seats at Wachovia Center.
Seconds earlier, with just 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime and the scored tied, Iverson jumped in front of Jarvis Hayes’ inbound pass near midcourt and raced home for a layup, securing a 116-114 victory for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Washington Wizards.
Iverson, who finished with 28 points, 13 assists and no turnovers, could not contain his elation at game’s end. He raised his hand to his ear as if to let the 17,516 “Black Friday” fans know he couldn’t hear them. He then jumped on the seats in the first row, threw his hands around the shoulders of any fan who would fit and whooped it up with the smiling group as the 76ers (6-6) celebrated a win over the Wizards (6-5), whose three-game winning streak ended.
The scene, involving one of the biggest yet most controversial stars in the league, stood in stark contrast to the incident involving the Indiana Pacers’ Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson and the rogue Detroit Pistons fans, who engaged in one of the ugliest rumbles in the history of American professional sports Nov.19.
“I hope I don’t get fined or suspended for going in the stands, but I think my reason was a good one,” Iverson said. “It was just special. They were right there. Without them I don’t think we would have had the momentum to be able to get over the hump after those guys hit big shot after big shot. Hopefully, fans will remember it and cherish it for the rest of their lives.”
The Wizards will remember it. Cherishing it is something altogether different.
Washington played the game while coach Eddie Jordan mended in a Washington-area hospital following the discovery of blood clot in his left calf Thanksgiving Day.
“I spoke to him before the game,” said assistant coach Mike O’Koren, who filled in for Jordan. “He’s doing a lot better. He’s fine. He’s coming along, but it’s going to take some time.”
Barring complications, Jordan will return to the bench Wednesday when the Wizards play host to New Jersey.
In their failed attempt to win their fourth game in a row for the first time in nearly three years, the Wizards erased Philadelphia’s 91-82 lead in the final six minutes of regulation, then forced overtime when Hayes (18 points, seven rebounds) split two defenders from 26 feet and drilled one of the Wizards’ 10 3-pointers to send the game to overtime tied 103-103.
Antawn Jamison led the Wizards, who packed the box score with his fifth double-double (27 points, season-high 15 rebounds) of the season. Larry Hughes had a spectacular game, scoring 20 points to go with 12 rebounds and nine assists. Gilbert Arenas added 20 points, and Brendan Haywood finished with his second double-double (14 points, season-high 14 boards) in the loss.
“I don’t think we could have played any better,” said Arenas, who was Hayes’ intended target on the final inbound pass and thought he was fouled on Iverson’s steal. “He went through me to get the ball. So they let him get the ball to see if he could make it in two seconds, which he did. So you can’t do anything about it.”
Hayes also thought Arenas might have been fouled on the play. But the Wizards made their share of mistakes along the way including 17 turnovers that led to 23 points, compared with Philadelphia’s eight that led to seven.
“It’s tough,” Hayes said. “God almighty, it’s tough. It’s one of those things that seems almost a backbreaker. But we’ve got practice tomorrow, and then we’ve got to play at Toronto.”
While Iverson starred for the 76ers, he was not a one-man show. Kyle Korver shot 6-for-12 from behind the 3-point arc to finish with career highs in points (26) and rebounds (eight). Center Marc Jackson finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. And reserves John Salmons (16) and Samuel Dalembert (13) combined to give the 76ers bench a 38-22 scoring advantage.
But Iverson’s play and the ensuing victory celebration overshadowed everything else.
“Games that end like that always hurt you the most,” said Hughes, who spent his first two years in the NBA as Iverson’s teammate in Philadelphia. “That’s what he does. I know that he liked the angle he had to the ball. For a guy who likes to steal the ball, that was the perfect pass.”
detroit pistons coach history 在 pennyccw Youtube 的精選貼文
Since the Detroit Pistons don't have a spectacular scorer, they get the ball to the man of the moment.
In Game 2 against Philadelphia, that player was Tayshaun Prince -- again.
Prince, the seldom-used rookie who has thrived in the playoffs, scored seven straight points at the end of regulation and the start of overtime as Detroit defeated the 76ers 104-97 Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.
"Of course I was surprised,'' Prince said. "But this is a team that doesn't have a top star on it. Whenever a guy gets going, the coaches and the guy on the bench say, 'Let's get this guy the ball.' It's just a matter of who has the good feeling in the game, and in the overtime and just before overtime, that guy was me.''
Allen Iverson scored 31 points, but with a 92-90 lead and 15.1 seconds left in regulation he missed two free throws to give the Pistons a chance at an improbable win.
"I take the blame for this one,'' Iverson said. "If I made one or two free throws, we're going home happy. Put this one on me.''
Detroit's Chauncey Billups missed the game with a sprained ankle after scoring 101 points in three games. He was replaced by Chucky Atkins, who had scored just 23 points in eight playoff games. Atkins matched that total while playing 44 minutes.
Prince, who scored 20 points in Game 7 against Orlando in the first round, made a difficult spinning 4-footer with 4.3 seconds left to force overtime. He scored the first five points in the extra session on a layup and a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired.
Atkins made a 3-pointer with 2:07 left to give Detroit, which set an NBA record by going 8-0 in overtime, a 100-93 lead.
Iverson said he was not surprised to see Prince and Atkins play so well.
"They don't just grab guys off the street and put them on NBA rosters,'' he said.
The series now moves to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 Saturday and Sunday.
It's safe to say Prince will not be spending as much time on the bench as he did during most of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.
The native of Compton, Calif., appeared in just 42 games after being the 23rd pick in the draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 3.3 points in 10 minutes a game.
Prince didn't play in the opening game of the playoffs against Orlando, scored two points in Games 2-3 and despite slowing down Tracy McGrady, didn't play in Game 4.
After Detroit coach Rick Carlisle was criticized for keeping Prince on the bench, he scored 15 points in Game 5 and 20 points in Game 7 as the Pistons became the seventh team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1.
Prince played a career-high 39 minutes Thursday night.
"When you don't play much, there's a hungriness inside of you,'' Prince said. "You want to bring something to the team.
"At first, it was just defense against Orlando. But now I've been able to help on the other end.''
Richard Hamilton scored 23 points, Cliff Robinson scored 14 of his 16 points in the first quarter, Jon Barry had 11 and Ben Wallace had 15 rebounds, seven points and two blocked shots.
Iverson wasn't a one-man team, either.
Kenny Thomas scored 15 points and grabbed a playoff-high 19 rebounds. Eric Snow, playing on an injured right foot, scored 14 points. Derrick Coleman and Aaron McKie each scored 12.
The Sixers came back from a 14-point deficit midway through the second quarter, and Iverson made two free throws with 1:40 left to give Philadelphia its first lead since the end of the third quarter. Snow's jumper on their next possession put Philadelphia ahead 92-89.
Hamilton made one of two free throws -- continuing Detroit's poor night at the line as the Pistons missed 14 of 35 attempts. But Iverson gave Detroit a chance, with each of his attempts hitting the rim and bouncing out.
The Pistons had no timeouts left, and the ball eventually got to Prince on the right wing. He backed in against McKie, avoided Snow's swipe at the ball and twisted his body around before releasing a soft floater that was all net as the crowd went crazy.
Snow airballed a long 3-pointer at the end of regulation as Philadelphia could not get the ball into Iverson's hands.
"I was yelling for Allen to shoot more,'' Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said.
Before Billups was signed as a free agent last summer, Atkins started 137 games over two seasons and averaged at least 12 points. Atkins averaged 11.3 points in 10 playoff games last season.
Atkins ran Detroit's offensive effectively in the first quarter, leading it to a 30-25 lead, and made several key baskets, including shots in the final seconds of the first and third quarters.
Game notes
Robinson missed six shots after going 6-of-7 in the first quarter. ... Detroit missed eight of 10 foul shots in the first half. ... Atkins scored 22 points for his previous playoff-high in Game 5 of the second round last year against Boston.