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Monday, Apr. 10 7:00pm ET
Philly bridges halves with 21-6 run | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- It was a change of direction, for both teams. A day after a lackluster loss for Philadelphia and a thrilling buzzer-beater win for Miami, the 76ers got 33 points from Allen Iverson and humbled the Heat 96-80 Monday night. Philadelphia snapped Miami's seven-game winning streak. "This game meant a lot. It made us forget about the last game," said Iverson, who scored 18 points in the first half Monday, matching his point total from Sunday's 92-80 loss at the Magic. "I left that game in Orlando. I never thought it about it again once we left." Eric Snow added 12 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia, which stayed in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game ahead of Charlotte. The No. 4 seed has home-court advantage against No. 5 in the first round of the playoffs. The Hornets defeated Washington 107-105 Monday. "We played hard against a quality team," 76ers coach Larry Brown said. "If you have any hopes of doing anything in the playoffs, you have to beat quality teams." It was a tough loss for Miami, which had pulled out to a three-game lead in the Atlantic Division by beating New York in overtime Sunday on Tim Hardaway's 25-footer at the buzzer. This was the first home win by Philadelphia over the Heat in four seasons at the First Union Center. Miami holds a 3-1 lead in the series this season. "Allen got off the ball pretty well tonight," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "That was probably one of the first times that we didn't really contain him a little bit better." Philadelphia stumbled during the first quarter, falling behind 22-18. But the hosts outscored Miami by 21 over the next two periods and coasted to the win. The Sixers' backcourt of Snow and Iverson outscored Miami's Hardaway and Dan Majerle, 45-9. Iverson's fast-break layup off an assist from Toni Kukoc with 9:08 left in the second quarter made it 29-26 for Philadelphia, which never trailed again. Iverson, who broke his left toe against Toronto March 22, has not been practicing. He played 38 minutes Monday. "I can't help the team on the bench. Even with a broken toe, I can help them on the floor," he said. "It's a little hard for me to run by people like I want to." The 76ers opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a 16-foot jumper by Iverson and a pair of free throws from Theo Ratliff, to give the Sixers a 54-39 lead with 9:09 left. Iverson scored 12 points in the third quarter, including outmaneuvering Majerle for a pair of 16-foot jumpers with about seven minutes left. Kukoc, who had 12 points and five assists, and Snow repeatedly set up Iverson. Late in the second quarter, Kukoc sent Snow a nice pass for a 3-pointer to put the 76ers up 43-37 with 1:38 left. Kukoc's 3-point shot from the left corner followed by a free throw by George Lynch gave the Sixers their biggest lead of the night, 83-60, with 9:41 left. Miami's players appeared to grow frustrated by a series of calls against them midway through the third quarter, and Riley picked up a technical with 5:30 left. After that, the Heat let up. Down 21 points with eight minutes left in the game, Miami's starters were all on the bench. Hardaway played just three minutes in the fourth quarter and scored only four points. Jamal Mashburn led the Heat with 16 points and eight rebounds, though he went just 5-of-16 from the field. Alonzo Mourning scored 13 points a night after getting 33 against New York. "We can't let this (loss) be like the plague and spread. Let this just be a bump in the road," Mourning said. "We've got to get ourselves back on track." Snow's layup with 1.7 seconds left in the first half gave the 76ers a 45-37 lead at the break. Game notesThe 76ers have won six in a row at home, a season high. ... The Heat are 30-3 this season when they hold the opponent to less than 90 points. ... Mourning leads the league in blocks, with 284 this season. He had two Monday. ... The 76ers had only two turnovers in the first half, the lowest number since the team began playing at the First Union Center in 1996. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Miami Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 99 Atlanta 94
Philadelphia 96
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