His Airness Deflates 76ers

Michael Jordan should criticize his teammates more often.

A night after saying his team "stinks," Jordan scored 30 points and Richard Hamilton added 28, leading the Washington Wizards to a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Allen Iverson scored 40 points and Derrick Coleman added 15 for the Sixers. The defending Eastern Conference champions have lost two straight after winning seven in a row.

Washington won for just the second time in its last 10 games.

Following Tuesday night's 94-75 loss at Cleveland, Jordan ripped his teammates for their lack of urgency and lackluster play on defense.

"I don't see anyone covering my back as everyone probably expected me to cover theirs," Jordan said.

The Wizards couldn't stop Iverson, especially in the first half when he scored 27 points. But they shut down the rest of the Sixers, and Jordan scored Washington's last 14 points in the second quarter and the Wizards trailed 50-47 at halftime.

A 9-0 run early in the third gave Washington its first lead since the opening minutes. Hamilton had six points during the spurt, including a 12-footer that made it 60-58.

The Sixers went more than four minutes without a point in the fourth and the Wizards opened an 87-76 lead with 4:13 left, capped by consecutive jumpers from Jordan and Hamilton. A free throw by Jordan made it 88-76 with 2:58 left.

Philadelphia didn't get closer than five points the rest of the game.

Jordan came in shooting just 40.2 percent _ a career-low. He went 11-of-27 from the floor, 8-of-10 on free throws and had seven assists and six rebounds.

Iverson scored 17 points in the first quarter, including 12 straight at one point. All of the points except two free throws came on jumpers, including three 3-pointers.

Iverson entered the game shooting just 32.1 percent and had missed 30 of 35 3-pointers. He finished 15-of-31, including 3-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Notes:
Iverson didn't play in Philadelphia's 90-76 loss at Washington on Nov. 3. ... The Sixers were given a salary-cap exception worth just over $4 million for Matt Geiger's career-ending injury. ... Lue, who defended Iverson well in the NBA Finals last year, was booed loudly. Lue was activated from the injured list earlier in the day. He fouled out late in the fourth. ... Sixers forward Corie Blount missed his second straight game with a right ankle sprain. ... Iverson's second 3-pointer was his 477th and made him Philadelphia's all-time leader in 3s, passing Hersey Hawkins. ... Iverson got a technical foul in the fourth.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 - ABC, Action News