With some of the greatest players in 76ers history watching, Allen Iverson showed off a little.
Iverson had 22 points, matched a season-high with nine assists, grabbed four steals and did not turn the ball over in a 90-79 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
"He had an amazing game, especially down the stretch when he got us some really good shots,'' Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "This is by far his best year, on both ends of the court.''
Iverson's performance came on the night when the 76ers honored
the 1982-83 championship team at halftime. He acknowledged that it
was a special night for him seeing the fans' reaction to his
predecessors.
"This was something that I will cherish for the rest of my
life,'' Iverson said. "This sends me another message of how
blessed I am. Hopefully one day I can come back and get the same
response.''
The Sixers improved to 13-2 since the All-Star break and snapped
Portland's three-game winning streak.
Keith Van Horn added 20 points and nine rebounds, Aaron McKie
had 13 points, Eric Snow scored 12 and Derrick Coleman grabbed 10
rebounds for the 76ers. Snow left the game briefly in the fourth
quarter with a lacerated right middle finger but returned after
receiving five stitches.
Damon Stoudamire had 16 points, Rasheed Wallace scored 15 and Dale Davis had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.
"That's the game right there, 25 turnovers,'' said Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks, who was part of the 1982-83 team. "When you turn it over 25 times, that makes it tough.''
Philadelphia scored 11 of the first 15 points of the fourth quarter and pulled ahead 75-65 when Van Horn slammed down an alley-oop pass from Iverson with 8:55 left.
The Trail Blazers pulled within six, but another dunk by Van
Horn off of a pass from Iverson capped a 6-2 run to extend the
Sixers' lead back to 10. Portland was unable to get closer than
eight in the final six minutes.
"It was a great team win, especially in that fourth quarter,''
said Brown. "When they came back, we played as a team. Allen made
some unbelievable plays, some great passes and we made some
stops.''
A 3-pointer by Wallace capped a 14-6 run to pull Portland within one, 62-61, with 54 seconds left in the third, but a layup by Aaron McKie off an nifty pass from Iverson made it 64-61 at the end of the quarter.
The Sixers led by as many 10 in the second quarter and held a 48-41 lead at the break. Iverson had 12 and Van Horn added 10 in the half.
Game notes
Portland's Scottie Pippen missed his second straight game with a left knee effusion and Jeff McInnis did not play due to a broken nose he suffered in Wednesday's win over Toronto. ... The 76ers wore the red road jerseys from their 1982-83 NBA championship team. ... Iverson said he was looking forward to Sunday's game in New Jersey that will be for first place in the Atlantic Division. "It's going to be war and I'm all for it.''
