Bucks Force Game 7

As promised, Ray Allen didn`t let anybody else determine the outcome of Game 6. Allen tied an NBA playoff record with nine 3-pointers and had his own personal 17-0 run before the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a stunning fourth-quarter rally led by Allen Iverson to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 110-100 Friday night and tie the Eastern Conference finals at three games apiece.

Game 7 will be Sunday in Philadelphia, with the winner moving on to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Allen finished with a career playoff-high 41 points for the Bucks, who let a 33-point lead dip to 10 in the fourth quarter as Iverson was unstoppable. Iverson scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, three shy of the NBA record set by Sleepy Floyd of Golden State in 1987, and finished with 46.

Allen`s final two 3-pointers were the biggest of the game, coming after Philadelphia had pulled within 10 with 5:14 remaining.

Allen`s performance came one day after he alleged that the NBA would rather see a 76ers-Lakers final than a Bucks-Lakers final. He spent a long time before the game sitting at his locker defending his words, then went out and made the biggest statement of the series.

Hitting four consecutive 3-point shots, Allen scored 19 straight Milwaukee points over the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first quarter and the first 1 1/2 minutes of the second. When he was finished, the Bucks had turned a 16-15 lead into a 33-15 edge.

Allen had 25 points at halftime, 31 before the second half was two minutes old. His nine 3-pointers tied the NBA record set by Rex Chapman of Phoenix in 1997 and matched by Vince Carter of Toronto against the 76ers on May 11.

In the highest scoring game of the series, the Bucks improved to 3-0 this postseason when facing elimination.

"We just had to keep our composure. We`ve been known to blow leads," Allen said.

After being forced to play Philadelphia`s slowdown style during the previous three games, the Bucks turned this one into an uptempo game as soon as they could.

Iverson made his first two shots -- both 3-pointers -- but was hit with a technical foul by referee Joey Crawford midway through the first quarter. That turned out to be the moment when the momentum shifted squarely in Milwaukee`s favor.

Allen hit the technical free throw for a 17-15 lead, then closed the quarter with a pair of 3s. Allen started the second quarter with another 3-pointer, then came up with a steal, two foul shots and a 3-pointer in transition that made it 33-15.

Glenn Robinson scored his first points of the game on a corner jumper that gave the Bucks a 40-17 lead, and Allen added two more 3-pointers over the final 2:04 of the second quarter to give Milwaukee a 60-31 halftime advantage.

Allen began the third quarter with yet another 3-pointer, then converted a fast-break layup on which he was fouled by Aaron McKie. He pumped his fists as he lay on the ground, then got up and completed the three-point play.

He later fed Robinson for a 3-pointer after Sam Cassell grabbed an offensive rebound, making it 75-46.

Iverson went to the bench with 2:37 left in the third quarter and the 76ers trailing by 28, then came out and had a four-point play, a three-point play, a 3-pointer and two foul shots early in the fourth quarter as the Sixers pulled to 84-73 with eight minutes left.

Allen hit his eighth 3-pointer with 6:21 left for an 89-75 lead and his ninth with 4:54 left to make it 92-79. Iverson reached 24 points for the quarter by converting a three-point play with 4:37 left, but Milwaukee scored the next four points to end the threat.

Robinson had 22 for the Bucks, and Scott Williams played his best game of the series in scoring 12 points -- including 10 of Milwaukee`s first 14.

Williams also delivered a hard foul on Iverson just over two minutes into the game, elbowing Iverson hard in the shoulder as he drove the lane. Williams was called for a flagrant foul and Iverson rubbed his shoulder before going to the foul line and missing his first attempt -- much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 18,717.

Iverson hit 3-pointers on his next two touches, but the technical foul seemed to take him out of his rhythm just as Allen was starting to get a groove.

"If we play like we`re capable of playing and not let the referees have a hand in the outcome of the game, then we`ll have nothing to worry about," Allen had said Thursday.

Turns out Allen was right, although Iverson did all he could to make the Bucks sweat in the fourth quarter.

Notes:
Sixers forward Matt Geiger was in uniform for the first time since Game 1. He played three minutes of garbage time. ... Bucks coach George Karl improved his career record to 22-11 in elimination games. ... Williams had scored a total of just 15 points in the first five games of the series. ... Allen`s previous career playoff-high was 38 points in Game 2 of this series.

Courtesy Associated Press All Rights reserved. Copyright 2001.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News