ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | NASCAR | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses





Tuesday, Dec. 26 9:00pm ET
Sixers beat Jazz with balance

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Aaron McKie realizes he's not Allen Iverson. The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.

McKie stepped in for the injured Iverson, scoring a season-high 24 points as the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz 97-91 Tuesday night, ending a 13-year losing streak in Utah.

John Stockton
Utah's John Stockton realizes there's no way getting around the Sixers' Kevin Ollie.

"I was just trying to play basketball," said McKie, who played despite a slight case of the flu. "I just stayed within the offense and coach called my number. Sometimes, you have to play when you're sick."

Iverson partially dislocated his right shoulder in Friday's game against the New York Knicks and was expected to be out one to three weeks. He made the trip but never left the Philadelphia locker room.

The Sixers didn't need him after McKie made 8 of 15 shots. Philadelphia also compensated for Iverson's absence by shooting 56 percent through three quarters, then holding off a fourth-quarter surge by the Jazz.

"This is a strange team," said Toni Kukoc, who scored 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. "Whenever everything's right, someone finds a way to make something wrong. When everything's wrong, we find a way to win."

Tyrone Hill and Theo Ratliff, who also was feeling ill, each scored 13.

The Philadelphia lineup looked like it was held together by duct tape.

Kevin Ollie, waived by New Jersey on Dec. 15, started in place of Eric Snow, out after surgery to repair a broken right ankle. Rodney Buford, signed last week, stepped in for Pepe Sanchez, out with a sore hip.

The Sixers also played without Matt Geiger, who didn't dress because of a sore right knee, and Speedy Claxton, who's recovering from surgery to repair a torn left knee ligament.

"Anytime you come here and win, it's a miracle. When you're so short-handed, it's even more significant," said Sixers coach Larry Brown. "We were trying to find ways to get Aaron to the bathroom from time to time but a lot of other people stepped up."

Until their late run, the Jazz couldn't slow anyone.

"We just tried to find the hot man," Ollie said. "They didn't really know who to defend when everyone was aggressive."

John Stockton led the Jazz with 19 points and 12 assists but Utah was doomed by 45 percent shooting and a 36-29 rebounding disadvantage.

Bryon Russell scored 17 points, John Starks had 14 and Danny Manning 13 for the Jazz. Karl Malone scored 12 and had five rebounds, well below his averages of 23.4 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Philadelphia went ahead by double figures about 10 minutes before halftime and never let the lead slip below 10 points until Stockton hit a 3-pointer with 3:44 to play, cutting Utah's deficit to 90-81.

Russell added another 3-pointer with 2:58 remaining, but Hill scored four straight and McKie added two free throws to extend the lead to 96-86 with 1:05 to play, and the Sixers ran out the clock from there.

"We made a run at them, but we just didn't have enough gas down the stretch," Manning said.

The Jazz trailed all night, struggling to find a winning formula. Utah shot 36 percent in the first half. While Utah heated up in the fourth quarter, Malone had only four points in the second half.

In last week's 91-89 victory at Philadelphia, Malone scored 41, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

"We have to get the ball to Karl more," Stockton said. "Our team's good when he's good."

Game notes
Iverson has missed 20 games to injuries and three to suspensions during his five NBA seasons. The Sixers are 10-13 in those games. ... Russell took a finger in the eye from McKie late in the third. He went to the locker room and a physician was paged, but Russell soon returned to the bench and was back in action in the fourth. ... Stockton shot the 4,999th free throw of his 17-year career. ... The Sixers opened a three-game road trip and extended their road winning streak to five games. ... Philadelphia's last victory in Salt Lake City was on Nov. 30, 1987, at the old Salt Palace.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Philadelphia Clubhouse

Utah Clubhouse


Sore-shouldered Iverson expected to miss 1-3 weeks


RECAPS
Charlotte 115
Cleveland 110

Detroit 101
Boston 96

Atlanta 81
New Jersey 76

Dallas 114
Seattle 93

Milwaukee 89
Orlando 77

Minnesota 100
Toronto 97

San Antonio 103
Houston 95

Denver 109
LA Clippers 108

Philadelphia 97
Utah 91

Phoenix 97
Vancouver 95

AUDIO/VIDEO
audio
 Larry Brown knows how special it is to beat the Utah Jazz.
wav: 197 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Karl Malone Official Site

Bryon Russell Official Site

Larry Brown Official Site


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.