76ers Stop Streaking Celtics

Allen Iverson watched Aaron McKie hit his fourth straight jumper, looked toward Boston's bench and stuck out his tongue, mocking the Celtics. He didn't hear a word the rest of the game.

Iverson scored 37 points and McKie got 13 of his 17 in the third quarter, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 99-83 victory over the streaking Celtics on Monday night. Boston, off to its best start in 10 years, had won nine of 10. The defending Eastern Conference champion Sixers have won two straight after losing seven in a row.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points and Antoine Walker had 15 for the Celtics, who fell to 14-8. Walker missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts.

"Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce are like the best trash-talkers in the league and they talk all game," Iverson said. "When they came back on that little run, that's all they did."

But McKie quickly made them quiet, getting all but two points during a 15-3 run that put the game away late in the third.

After falling behind 59-37 minutes into the third, Boston cut the deficit to 59-46 on three consecutive 3-pointers by Pierce. Six straight points by Walker got the Celtics within 63-54 with 4:43 left in the third.

McKie then took over, hitting five long jumpers, including an 18-footer that made it 65-54. After a layup by Pierce, McKie made two free throws. Iverson then hit a jumper, and McKie followed with two 19-footers, a 3-pointer and another 18-footer that gave Philadelphia a 78-57 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Celtics didn't get closer than 15 the rest of the way.

"We had a lot of great performances," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "Allen was terrific. Aaron gave us a big lift. I thought it the first half Aaron was non-aggressive, but when they made that little run, he got it going."

Walker and Pierce, averaging more than 50 points combined, had just 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting in the first half. The Celtics shot just 39 percent (31-of-80).

"When you get down like that on the road against the Eastern Conference champions, it's going to be an uphill battle," Pierce said. "We got off to a bad start and they got a big lead. We were never able to recover from it."

Iverson, finally showing signs that he has recovered from elbow surgery, was 14-of-24. He's shooting 51.9 percent (54-of-104) in the last four games.

"I don't think he has taken many long jumpers, especially early in the shot clock," Brown said. "He made some unbelievable drives, but he's making 12, 14-footers."

The Sixers, plagued by injuries all season, are starting to resemble the team that reached the NBA Finals last season for the first time in 18 years. Eric Snow played his third straight game after returning from thumb surgery, allowing McKie to come off the bench.

Dikembe Mutombo had 17 points and 14 rebounds despite getting into foul trouble, and the defense helped overcome 23 turnovers.

"We always said that we were going to get better as soon as the guys got back, but that just was not happening," McKie said. "We had a meeting (on Saturday), coach Brown defined some roles and we just said that it starts from here. Ultimately, it comes down to the players."

The Celtics last won nine of 10 in March 1993. They are one game behind New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division.

"We don't worry too much about the standings right now," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "We worry about winning our next game."

Notes:
Philadelphia plays two more games at home this week before a crucial seven-game road trip to the West Coast. ... The Sixers have won 11 of the last 13 against Boston. ... Reserve Vitaly Potapenko had 14 points for the Celtics. ... The Sixers won the rebounding battle, 46-31.

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

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Author: 6 - ABC, Action News