Derrick Coleman sank the winning jumper with two-tenths of a
second left and Allen Iverson added 27 points as the
Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 20-point deficit and ended an
11-game losing streak in Phoenix with an 85-84 victory over the
Suns.
Coleman's open 17-footer from the left of the basket capped a
22-5 game-ending run and gave the 76ers' their first win at
Phoenix since December 28th, 1985. He finished with 18 points
and 10 rebounds.
"It's a play we call `clock,'" explained Coleman. "It's when
the shot clock is down low. Al and Theo (Ratliff) screen my man
low and I pop out and take the jump shot... no, I wasn't sure
that it was going in."
Iverson scored 13 of his points in the final 8:13. With
Philadelphia trailing 79-63 after a bucket by Steve Nash with
8:31 remaining, Iverson led an 18-2 charge as the Sixers forged
an 81-81 deadlock on two free throws by Theo Ratliff with just
over a minute left.
"I think we did a great job on defense," Iverson said. "That's
always the key. I couldn't buy a shot the whole game and my
teammates and the coaching staff still have the confidence to
come back to me. It made me feel good and pump me up and I got
going in the fourth."
Phoenix's Cliff Robinson sank a free throw before Philadelphia
took the lead when Iverson capitalized on Rex Chapman's turnover
by hitting a pair from the line. Kevin Johnson countered at 52
seconds with the Suns' first field goal since Nash's shot. But
Coleman's game-winner lifted the 76ers to their second straight
road win.
Robinson finished with 21 points and Danny Manning added 15 for
the Suns, who committed 23 turnovers that were exchanged for 25
points by Philadelphia.
Phoenix, which held a 62-42 cushion after Chapman's
three-pointer with 10:00 left in the third period, had a
five-game winning streak snapped.
The Suns shot 61 percent in the first half before going cold in
the final 24 minutes, shooting an abysmal 9-of-35 (26 percent)
from the field and tying their all-time low for a half with 27
points.
Antonio McDyess scored all 11 of his points in the first quarter
as the Suns jumped out to a 31-24 lead. They continued to pull
away in the second, taking a 57-39 lead at halftime.
The Sixers narrowed the gap to 12 points after three periods and
shut down Phoenix in the fourth, holding them to just 12 points
and 4-of-19 shooting from the field.
"Oh, man that was ugly," said Phoenix coach Danny Ainge. "That
was a terrible second half of basketball. A classic example of
us flirting with disaster. We have a tendency to do that and it
finally got us."
Iverson got the best of counterpart Jason Kidd, who finished
with six points and 10 assists, but only two and four in the
second half. Iverson, who went 8-of-20 from the field, did most
of his damage from the line, hitting 10-of-11 from the stripe --
6-of-6 in the final quarter -- to go along with five assists.
The win kicks off a four-game western road swing that takes the
Sixers to Los Angeles to face the Clippers before they go on to
Denver and San Antonio.
"In the first half we didn't guard anybody," said Sixers coach
Larry Brown. "In the second half we started to guard people. Our
big guys were tremendous and our bench came in and really
guarded. This is as good a win as we could ever have."
