Iverson Lights Up Chicago

The Philadelphia 76ers are still in first and the Chicago Bulls are still the worst.

Allen Iverson scored eight of his 33 points in the last 6:12 Saturday night as the 76ers survived a Bulls rally and won 99-91.

Iverson was 9-of-13 on free throws, and had eight assists. Reserve Aaron McKie added 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and Theo Ratliff had 14. Todd MacCulloch had 13 rebounds.

Ron Artest led the Bulls with a career-high 29 points, including 15 during Chicago`s third-quarter rally. Elton Brand and Ron Mercer each had 20, and Brand added 14 rebounds and seven assists.

With the Utah Jazz losing to Cleveland, the 76ers now have the best record in the NBA (18-6) to themselves. And the Bulls are still the NBA`s worst team at 3-21.

But at least they made the 76ers work for their victory. After Ratliff gave Philadelphia a 65-61 lead with a 16-foot jumper with 7:23 left in the third, Chicago came roaring back _ yes, that`s right, roaring _ with a 15-2 run.

Artest led the attack, hitting a 19-foot jumper and then dunking three times in a 30-second span. He was fouled by Tyrone Hill on the first dunk, missed the free throw, grabbed the rebound and then stuffed it with a one-handed slam.

Mercer scooped up a bad Iverson pass and fed it to Artest, who dunked again to cut the 76ers` lead to 65-59 with 5:53 left in the third.

Philadelphia called a timeout, but the Bulls kept up their run, with Bryce Drew hitting a pull-up jumper and Brand making a hook shot, his first shot of the second half. Mercer then converted a three-point play, tying the game at 66 with 3:23 left in the quarter.

Jumaine Jones scored on a finger roll, and McKie hit a 3-pointer to push Philadelphia`s lead back to 76-73 at the end of the third.

Brand got the Bulls to 82-81 with 7:11 left to play, but McKie hit a fadeaway to start a 14-0 run. Iverson scored eight points during the run, capping the spurt with a 13-foot jumper that gave Philadelphia a 96-81 lead with 3:21 left.

Notes:
The 76ers had 17 turnovers, and the Bulls turned them into 17 points. ... Bulls center Michael Ruffin scored seven points in the first quarter on 3-for-3 shooting and had six rebounds. ... Bulls center Brad Miller, on the injured list since Nov. 11 with a broken right hand, hopes to return for Thursday`s game in Orlando. "I`m looking forward to it," he said. "It`s boring dressing up and sitting there the whole time."

Courtesy Associated Press. All Right Reserved. Copyright 2000.

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Author: AP