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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson didn't need to warm up.
|  | | Hundred of seats remained empty at the First Union Center Monday while heavy snows crippled roads and delayed the Sixers-Nuggets game by an hour. |
Iverson, a late arrival at the First Union Center because of a
snowstorm, scored 37 points and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a
two-game losing streak with a 99-80 victory over the Denver Nuggets
on Monday night.
The start of the game was delayed one hour by the bad weather.
Denver's team bus arrived a few minutes late at the arena, but the
game was held up because several Sixers had trouble making it on
time.
"It was tough for me because I didn't get a chance to get taped
up because we had to do the meeting, then I went to get tape and I
didn't get a chance to test my running," Iverson said. "Once the
ball goes up, you have no choice."
Iverson ran onto the court 4:25 prior to tipoff. He made his
first four shots, scored Philadelphia's first seven points and had
16 in the first quarter.
Iverson beat the buzzer with a 16-foot jumper that made it
31-17, and the Sixers never looked back.
Aaron McKie added 11 points and 10 assists for Philadelphia,
which leads the NBA with a 36-13 record. McKie, the last player to
arrive for the game, missed his third triple-double of the season
by two rebounds.
"At one point, we had one guard in the building," Sixers coach
Larry Brown said, adding that general manager Billy King had to
plead with the league to push back the start time.
Antonio McDyess scored 28 points and George McCloud had 13 for
the Nuggets, who have lost four of five.
"They set the tone in the first quarter and we never
responded," Nick Van Exel said. "They got us in transition and
Allen got going."
Denver closed to 39-33 midway through the second quarter as
McDyess scored seven straight points.
But Rodney Buford scored the next six points for the Sixers,
including an alley-oop slam from Iverson and a 13-foot jumper that
made it 45-35 with 6:14 left in the first half.
McCloud's 3-pointer cut it to 83-74 midway through the fourth
quarter, but Iverson answered with a fallaway jumper. After an
alley-oop slam by McDyess from Van Exel, Iverson made two free
throws and McKie scored on a driving layup for an 89-76 lead with
3:13 left.
The Sixers led by double digits the rest of the game.
"We were too soft to start the game and that's why we got
beat," Denver coach Dan Issel said.
Philadelphia, playing its fourth game in five nights, was coming
off a 96-89 loss to the lowly New Jersey Nets that followed a
double-overtime loss to the Orlando Magic at home Friday.
"This game was so tough because we've been losing so many leads
lately," Iverson said.
Game notes
Jumaine Jones had 10 points and nine rebounds for
Philadelphia before leaving the game with a mild concussion late in
the fourth quarter. ... Sixers guard Kevin Ollie was not with the
team. He was with his wife in Connecticut, awaiting the birth of
the couple's second child. ... Denver, 20-6 at home, fell to 7-16
on the road. ... Iverson has scored 30 or more points in five
straight and has averaged 35.9 points over his last 10 games. ...
McDyess' double-double was his league-leading 36th. ... Van Exel
fouled out with 3:27 left in the game. He had eight points and five
assists. ... Philadelphia avoided its first three-game losing
streak of the season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 99
Denver 80
Toronto 110
Boston 98
Dallas 91
Atlanta 81
Houston 100
New York 86
San Antonio 109
Golden State 85
Seattle 95
Vancouver 82
LA Clippers 102
Chicago 82
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Larry Brown Official Site
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