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Wednesday, Dec. 15 8:00pm ET
Iverson keys 76ers' 17-point comeback | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- After being booed mercilessly almost the entire night, Matt Geiger had a final minute that put Philadelphia back on his side. Geiger kept the ball in the Sixers' hands for most of the final minute by tipping two missed shots to teammates and grabbing an offensive rebound.
The latter play brought a half-hug, half-back slap from Allen Iverson that was an emotional high for the 76ers in a 93-91 victory Wednesday night over then Toronto Raptors. "You have to be deaf not to, so yeah, I heard them," Geiger said of the boos. "That's just Philly. When I play bad, they boo." It was the relentlessness of the booing that upset Geiger's teammates. The catcalls came as Geiger was missing 10 of 14 shots, and they came some more as the Raptors kept winning the rebounding battle. When rookie Todd MacCulloch replaced him, the crowd cheered. "The crowd getting on Matt Geiger, and then at the end of the game he ended up being one of the heroes," said Iverson, who scored 37 points. "It's tough. "For this guy to help us get to the playoffs last year and come in here off having surgery and push himself to get back a little earlier and get booed because he's not capable of doing the things that he's always been capable of, it's kind of rough. I love my fans. I love the fans in Philadelphia. But I was just so disappointed tonight because Matt just doesn't deserve that." The Raptors, who blew a 17-point lead by playing a selfish second half, had a chance to tie it or win it, but Vince Carter missed a 21-foot jumper from the corner at the buzzer. The Sixers improved to 6-2 when Iverson scores 30 or more points. He also had seven rebounds and seven assists while shooting 13-for-34 -- two shy of his career-high for attempts. Carter scored 19, Tracy McGrady 18, Kevin Willis 17 and Dee Brown 12 for Toronto, which got a career-high 18 rebounds from Antonio Davis yet still had its two-game road winning streak halted. Philadelphia outscored Toronto 27-14 in the third quarter and 25-22 in the fourth. "I told them at halftime let's not worry about them making a run, let's put them away," Raptors coach Butch Carter said. "I think they lost their confidence." Geiger's last rebound led to Iverson making one of two foul shots to make it 90-87 with 12.2 seconds left. Davis scored on a layup with 7.9 left, and Iverson restored the three-point lead by making a pair from the line with 7.2 left. That seemingly gave Toronto one last chance to tie, but the Raptors instead went inside to Davis for a layup, making it 92-91 with 1.7 seconds left. Eric Snow then made one of two free throws with 0.9 left, and Carter couldn't capitalize and tie it at the buzzer. The Raptors grabbed a team-record 36 rebounds in the first half against a Sixers team that was missing Tyrone Hill, who sat out with the flu, and Theo Ratliff, who missed his 11th straight game with a sore left ankle despite being cleared to play by the team doctor. Ratliff said he'll play Friday against Chicago. With Carter on the bench for the entire second quarter, the Raptors pulled ahead with a 17-2 run including 13 unanswered points. Most of the damage was done by the big men, Davis and Willis. After trailing 51-34 late in the second quarter, Philadelphia got back into it in the third with runs of 12-1 and 11-4 to trail by just one point entering the fourth. Iverson was 8-for-24 before hitting four of his last five shots of the third quarter. Iverson gave the 76ers the lead for good on three foul shots that made it 83-81 with 3:56 left. McGrady could have tied it but missed two free throws, and Iverson shook off Alvin Williams with two crossover, between-the-legs dribbles before hitting jumper that gave Philadelphia a four-point lead heading into the final three minutes.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Toronto Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 96 Boston 86
Philadelphia 93
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