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Tuesday, Apr. 18 8:30pm ET
Philly's Kukoc scores 18 against old team | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Philadelphia 76ers are already packing their bags. After giving away one game and nearly another, the 76ers figure they'll be starting the first round of the playoffs in Charlotte. Whatever. Sick, bruised and beat up, they're just glad to have the regular season over. "I'm thrilled to death that we won 49 games," Sixers coach Larry Brown said after his team held off the Chicago Bulls 93-89 on Tuesday night. "Now maybe I can get some people healthy and get them rested and we can see if we have something left to get ready for the playoffs." They'd better be, because the Hornets are going to be a lot tougher than the Bulls. With home-court advantage on the line, and no Allen Iverson, the Sixers needed two free throws in the last 24 seconds from Aaron McKie to get the win after blowing a 25-point, fourth-quarter lead. The 76ers' fate is in Charlotte's hands now. Philadelphia is a half-game ahead of the Hornets in the race for the home-court edge, but Charlotte has one more game and wins the tiebreaker because it took the season series 3-1. The Hornets host the Miami Heat on Wednesday. "I have no doubt they (Charlotte) will win the game," Brown said. "We are going to play against a great team and hopefully we'll be up for it." If nothing else, the Sixers will be a little healthier. Iverson went on the injured list earlier Tuesday with an inflamed elbow and a broken toe, but he's expected to be back for the playoffs. Center Theo Ratliff started despite a case of the flu, but only played seven minutes. McKie's been bothered by a disc problem and the flu, and Eric Snow has a pulled groin. "However many days we get off will be really important for our team as far as trying to get back to strength from an injury standpoint, as far as focusing in on what Charlotte is going to do," said Matt Geiger, who scored 14 points for the Sixers. "It's four important days for this franchise." Geiger's dunk with 11:06 left gave Philadelphia an 80-55 lead and the game should have been all but over. But the Bulls weren't about to let their last home game go that easily. Chris Anstey scored 12 points as the Bulls went on a 29-8 run, closing to 88-84 on his dunk with 58 seconds left. Suddenly, it was like Monday's Indiana game all over again. The Sixers missed 13 straight shots in the fourth quarter and went more than 10 minutes without a field goal in that 92-90 loss to the Pacers. "To an extent, it might have been a letdown on their part," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. McKie made his first two free throws, but Corey Benjamin came right back with a 3-pointer to keep the Bulls within 92-89 with 19 seconds left. George Lynch missed two free throws and Chicago got the rebound, but Benjamin couldn't hold onto it. McKie was fouled, and he made the first of two. Chicago had one last chance, but lost the ball under the basket. McKie finished with 14 points and eight assists. Snow led the 76ers with 20, and Toni Kukoc scored 18 against his old team. Brand led the Bulls with 26 and 10 rebounds. Anstey had 17 points. "We played well until the last seven or eight minutes. We relaxed and let them in the game and they started to play well," Kukoc said. "I don't how many times after playing well we allowed teams to get back in the games, but it's something that we got to work on." The 76ers struggled early, too. Brand scored 15 points in the first quarter, and the Bulls started the second with three straight field goals to take a 30-19 lead with 9:56 left in the half. "They came out looking complacent and we came out and played well," said Chris Carr, who finished with seven for Chicago. "Then we got complacent." Game notesThe Sixers turned the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter alone. ... Chicago Bulls guard Randy Brown, activated from the injured list earlier in the day, didn't play the second half because of tightness in his back. Brown had been on the injured list with back spasms since April 8. ... B.J. Armstrong, who is retiring at the end of the season, played his last home game. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Philadelphia Clubhouse Chicago Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 114 Washington 81
Philadelphia 93
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