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Stephen Jackson atoned for a bunch of misses with one clutch play.


Jackson's layup with 2.9 seconds left lifted the Indiana Pacers to a 94-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

Allen Iverson had 33 points and nine assists, but couldn't lead the Sixers to their third straight victory.

Anthony Johnson had 18 points and Jackson scored 15 for Indiana, which has won three of four.

Down by one point, the Pacers got possession after a shot-clock violation on Philadelphia with 4.9 seconds left. Sarunas Jasikevicius threw an inbound pass to Jackson, who went around a stumbling Kyle Korver to make an uncontested shot.

"I was 0-for-infinity," Jackson said. "I just wanted to make a shot. We knew they'd switch. I went backdoor and got to the basket. My teammates showed confidence in me to give me the ball. It seemed like I hadn't made a shot all game."

Jackson missed 15 of his first 19 shots before the easy layup. Chris Webber then missed a jumper at the buzzer after an inbound pass from Iverson.

"For that to happen with 4.9 seconds left, it's devastating," Iverson said.

Korver was a surprise presence on the floor at that end, considering he lost his starting job because of his poor defense.

"We didn't make the correct switch," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said without singling out which player made the defensive mistake. "Whoever didn't make the switch didn't do it on purpose. This isn't about placing blame, it's about figuring out how to do it right at the end."

Iverson has scored 120 points and dished out 31 assists in three games since he was snubbed for the U.S. national team. He reached 40 points and 10 assists in consecutive games for the first time in his 10-year career, but fell short of doing it again.

After a turnover by Peja Stojakovic, Iverson sank a fadeaway jumper to give the Sixers a 91-90 lead with 2:26 left. John Salmons forced Fred Jones to commit another turnover, but Iverson's jumper was short and the Pacers reclaimed the lead on Johnson's turnaround shot.

Webber made two free throws with 50.3 seconds left to put Philadelphia ahead 93-92. Jackson then missed a long jumper from the corner and Korver grabbed the rebound, but the Sixers couldn't get another shot and gave it back to Indiana.

"That was my fault," Iverson said. "They played good defense and I made a bad play."

The Pacers (30-26) stayed ahead of Philadelphia (30-29) in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

"It was a great win for us," Johnson said. "That's the type of game that had been going against us this year."

Iverson had 12 of Philadelphia's first 14 points in the third quarter, but the Sixers couldn't pull away. Jones had a reverse dunk off an alley-oop pass from Stojakovic to give Indiana a 69-66 lead late in the third. Jones and Jasikevicius then hit 3-pointers to extend the margin to 77-71 going into the fourth quarter.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. Webber had a reverse slam and Iverson made consecutive jumpers late in the second quarter before Webber added another dunk to give Philadelphia a 46-45 lead at halftime.

Game notes
Steven Hunter made his sixth straight start at center for the Sixers, with Samuel Dalembert coming off the bench for the third game in a row after missing three with an ankle injury. Dalembert made all three of his shots -- all dunks. ... Forward Jermaine O'Neal (groin), guard Jamaal Tinsley (elbow) and forward Austin Croshere (concussion) remained sidelined for the depleted Pacers. ... The teams have split two of their three meetings. In 1½ seasons, the Sixers are 26-18 when Iverson and Webber score at least a combined 50 points . ... Indiana's Danny Granger fouled out with under a minute left. ... Stojakovic spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench.

I have made this video of AI vs Vince Carter the Toronto Raptors in 2001 NBA Playoff. Every single points of Iverson is included from Game 1 to Game 7.

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."

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."

Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens feels much the same way.

"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.

And while Iverson and Carter are going head to head, other young stars such as Milwaukee's Ray Allen, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Dallas' Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki and Sacramento's Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic also are still competing in the playoffs. In addition, the league's most improved player, Orlando's 21 year-old Tracy McGrady, was a major star of the first round even though his team lost.

"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."

The personal similarities between Carter and Iverson are few other than both are mama's boys. Iverson's mother, Ann, attends almost all of her son's games while dressed in a 76ers jersey with "IVERSON'S MOM" emblazoned on it. Carter's mother, Michelle, prefers street clothes at games, but she publicly criticized Oakley when he dared to criticize her baby boy.

Though Iverson — with his corn-row hairstyle, multiple tattoos and rap albums — might appeal directly to the hip-hop generation, the more conservative Carter is Mr. Basketball in Canada. One of the Raptors' top priorities is keeping him with the franchise well beyond the 2001-02 season, when his contract expires. They have a window from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 to re-sign him. If they don't, he will become a free agent after the 2001-02 season.

He and team officials prefer not to talk about the future just yet.

Meanwhile, he and Iverson downplay their personal rivalry.

Carter: "We try to do our thing as a team. I just try to fit in within the team concept and do what I need to do. I see what Allen is doing, but I'm not thinking about trying to outdo him personally."

Iverson: "I can't accomplish anything without my teammates. I know that, they know that and everybody knows that. Vince is a great player, but he needs his teammates just like I need mine. The things my teammates do to help us win are just as important as the things I do.

The Sacramento Kings could've used either Ron Artest or Peja Stojakovic against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Iverson scored 41 points and Chris Webber had 17 points and 13 rebounds, leading Philadelphia to a 109-103 victory over undermanned Sacramento on Tuesday night.

The Kings were without Stojakovic because he stayed at the hotel after the team reportedly agreed to send him to Indiana for Artest earlier in the day. However, the trade fell through, though Artest left open the possibility that something could still happen. The volatile forward was deactivated by the Pacers in December after requesting a trade.

"I had no control over any of it," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "I didn't have Peja. I told them to play with the hand you're dealt."

Mike Bibby had a career-high 44 points and Kevin Martin added 20 as the Kings lost their third straight game. Sacramento has won at least 55 games in four straight seasons but is last in the Pacific Division.

"As far as distractions go, not having Peja was the biggest thing," Bibby said. "We still don't know what's going on."

The Kings visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday, but Adelman wasn't sure about Stojakovic's status.

"I have a lot of faith in Peja," Adelman said. "He's meant a lot to me and this franchise. He's been a pro his whole career."

The Sixers have won three in a row, improving to 21-20 at the halfway point of the season. Philadelphia, which came in allowing the third-most points in the NBA, reverted to its usual form on defense after consecutive solid efforts.

The Sixers held Memphis and Minnesota to under 90 points each, but they allowed the Kings to shoot 47.6 percent.

"We've gotten a little bit better on the defensive end," coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Tonight wasn't one of our best defensive efforts, but if we're going to making a move, we'll have to do it on the defensive end."

Playing in front of his father, Sixers assistant coach Henry Bibby, Mike Bibby put on a shooting clinic in the second half. He made six straight shots in one stretch and was 12-of-14 after going 5-of-11 in the first half.

Sacramento trailed by 10 early in the fourth, but got within 93-90 on a 3-pointer by Bibby. After a jumper by Webber, Bibby hit another 3 to make it 95-93.

With Sacramento trailing 99-97, Andre Iguodala knocked the ball out of Bibby's hands, off his leg and out of bounds. Iguodala then hit a 3-pointer to give the Sixers a 102-97 lead with 1:58 left. Webber made two free throws in the final minute to seal the win over his former team.

"I feel good about how we're trying to get better defensively," Iverson said. "We're nowhere near where we want to be, but I like the effort."

At one point in the second quarter, the Sixers went 6:29 without a basket while missing nine straight shots. But their 9-point lead only shrunk to 39-34 during that stretch.

The Kings cut it to 44-43, but Philadelphia scored the next six points to take a 50-43 halftime lead.

Sacramento center Brad Miller, averaging 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds, missed all eight of his shots and finished with two points and one rebound in 32 minutes.