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Friday, Jan. 14 7:00pm ET
Sixers win, remember Hornets' Phills | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- By the time Eric Snow's game-winning jumper swished through the net, Tyrone Hill and Matt Geiger were too drained to celebrate. Both had just spent two days in Charlotte, mourning the death of friend and former teammate Bobby Phills. "We have a job, but that's someone's life," said Hill, who was told by Phills' widow to rejoin his teammates for their game against Orlando. The Sixers won 102-100. "That's my best friend. I would quit playing basketball if I knew he'd have another day to live and see his kids." Hill played with Phills in Cleveland, attended his wedding and was there when Phills' children were born. Likewise, Phills was there for him when Hill had a serious car wreck in 1995. "When we were out fishing, he always wanted to catch the biggest fish," Hill said. "Even when we were playing golf, he always wanted to beat me in golf. That's something you can't bring back, I don't care what you do or how much you think about it." As Hill spoke softly, Geiger sat silently with George Lynch a few feet away and held his head in his hands. His eyes watery and voice choked, Geiger wandered out of the Sixers locker room a while later in a daze. "I just wanted to be there for his wife and kids, spend some time with them, just be a friend," said Geiger, who had an off-night and unfortunately was booed ruthlessly by the Philly fans. Hill started and had 10 points and eight rebounds. Geiger came off the bench and had eight points in 21 minutes. Both caught a 1:30 p.m. flight and returned to their team instead of attending Phills' memorial service -- because Phills' wife, Kendall, told them to go. "I know if he was here, the first thing he'd say would be, 'Go and play,"' Hill said. "It helped out a lot, getting a chance to get away and play and realize how much we take things for granted." Snow took a bounce pass from Allen Iverson and hit a 20-footer from the top of the key for the winning basket with 14.4 seconds left. Darrell Armstrong had a chance to tie it and win it in the final seconds, but missed a running jumper and then had a 29-footer bounce off the rim at the buzzer. "I got a good look," Armstrong said. "I thought it was going to go, but we never should have been in that position in the first place." The Magic, who lost their fifth straight and 10th in 11 games, led by 18 in the second quarter on the strength of a 27-4 run spanning the first and second quarters. Iverson led the Sixers with 35 points and had no turnovers, while Theo Ratliff had a big night in his second game back from another leg injury with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. Snow had 10 points and 11 assists. Michael Doleac, who tied it at 100-all with a thunderous putback dunk, had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the injury-depleted Magic. Chris Gatling had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Chucky Atkins, a 25-year-old rookie who spent the last two years winning championships in Croatia, had 15 points and keyed Orlando's 27-4 run spanning the first and second quarters. "Turnovers have bothered us all year," said Magic coach Doc Rivers, referring to his team's 19 turnovers. "We're new and we're young. It's a learning process that absolutely hurts." Snow started a 17-5 run with a running jumper and capped it with a layup off a steal by Iverson to cut it to 92-91 with 3:55 left. Snow had four points and three assists during the run. Iverson hit a hanging one-hander to tie it at 94-all, then hit a jumper to give Philadelphia its first lead since the second quarter, 98-96 with 2:11 to play. Aaron McKie hit two free throws in between two baskets by Doleac to set up the thrilling finish. Game notesThe Sixers were playing for the first time since a 123-112 home loss to Minnesota on Sunday. ... It was Snow's third game-winning shot this season. "I've never done that in my life before this year," he said. Snow also won games against Detroit and Chicago with last-second shots. ... Philadelphia is 8-2 when Snow has 10 or more assists. ... Orlando held a 10-3 offensive rebounding edge in the second quarter. Five of them came on the same possession, which led to free throws. ... Philadelphia's Larry Hughes, the subject of trade rumors, was 2-for-7 with four points in 11 minutes. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Orlando Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 102 Orlando 100
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