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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Thanks to Allen Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers
keep overcoming a litany of injuries to stay atop the NBA.
|  | | Ray Allen can't believe it as Allen Iverson and George Lynch celebrate the 76ers' road win. |
The 76ers erased a five-point deficit in the final minute to
beat Milwaukee 107-104 Tuesday night in a spirited matchup of the
top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Iverson scored six of his 49 points in the final minute, then
helped play perfect keepaway as the 76ers killed the clock in the
closing seconds.
"It means something because we're playing without one of our
leading defenders," Iverson said of Theo Ratliff, his
shot-swatting teammate who has an injured wrist and missed his
first game of the season.
The Bucks got 28 points from Glenn Robinson, 27 from Ray Allen
and 20 from Sam Cassell and led 104-99 with 1:11 left. But they
also had eight fourth-quarter turnovers, failed to hold a
nine-point fourth-quarter lead and couldn't even commit up a foul
late in the game.
Iverson scored a second-chance basket with 56 seconds left and
was fouled. Although he missed the bonus, an offensive rebound by
George Lynch allowed Iverson to sink another basket at 49 seconds,
pulling Philadelphia to 104-103.
After a Milwaukee turnover, Cassell fouled out and Iverson sank
both free throws for a 105-104 lead.
"The little guy had a huge game," 76ers coach Larry Brown
said.
Tim Thomas misfired for the Bucks, and Tyrone Hill got the
rebound with 18 seconds left. Milwaukee knocked the ball out of
bounds a couple times, but when Eric Snow inbounded the ball with
13.4 seconds left, the 76ers spread the floor and played keepaway
until Robinson caught up with Aaron McKie with just three-tenths of
a second left.
McKie, who scored 17, sank both free throws for the final
margin.
"They did an excellent job holding the ball and running the
clock out," Robinson said. "We had the game won. We had a lead
and we couldn't hold on. We couldn't close it out. We gave it
away."
Thomas' 3-pointer gave the Bucks their biggest lead at 90-81,
but Iverson responded with a 3 and keyed a 11-2 run that gave
Philadelphia a 94-92 lead with 5:35 left.
The highly energetic showdown was seen by the Bucks as a chance
to further legitimize themselves as championship contenders.
This season, the Bucks have ended a seven-game losing streak to
the New York Knicks, stopped an eight-game skid against the Lakers
in Los Angeles, beat Detroit for the first time in four years at
the Palace and finally beat Denver for the first time in coach
George Karl's three-year tenure.
But they lost to the 76ers for the sixth straight time and for
the fifth straight time at the Bradley Center. They'll face each
other three more times over the next six weeks.
Hill said the comeback showed the 76ers' legitimacy as title
hopefuls.
"It was a good emotional win for us," he said. "That just
shows what kind of heart this team has. Every minute, every play,
don't give up. As long as we have that kind of attitude, we're
going to win every ballgame, we got a chance to win every
ballgame."
Before the game, the 76ers activated Snow and center Matt Geiger
and put Ratliff and Juan "Pepe" Sanchez (back strain) on the
injured list.
Ratliff, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Todd
MacCulloch, had started all 50 of the Sixers' games. He is out 4-6
weeks, and how well the 76ers play without their shot-blocking
specialist will play a major role in their quest for an NBA title.
Iverson had 38 points by the end of the third quarter, but the
Bucks, who trailed by eight at halftime, took an 87-81 lead into
the fourth quarter.
Robinson entered the game 20 points shy of 10,000 for his career
and scored 18 in the first half, which ended with Milwaukee
trailing 59-51.
Robinson reached the milestone on a 3-pointer to open the second
half. He is the fifth Bucks player to score 10,000 and the first
player of his draft class (1994) or the preceding one to reach five
figures.
But the fourth-quarter collapse left Robinson thinking about the
next time the teams meet, in Philadelphia on Feb. 26.
"Next time, we want to show them that was a fluke at the end of
the game," Robinson said.
Game notes
Robinson (10,008) joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14,221),
Sidney Moncrief (11,594), Bob Dandridge (11,478) and Marques
Johnson (10,980) as the only Milwaukee players with 10,000 points.
... Snow missed the last 32 games with a right ankle fracture and
subsequent surgery. He made his first appearance since Dec. 5
against the Lakers. ... Geiger had missed the last 25 games because
of soreness in his right knee and arthroscopic surgery performed on
Jan. 4. He played 12 minutes and had eight points and three
rebounds.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 77
Indiana 66
Toronto 120
Cleveland 105
Miami 101
LA Clippers 99
LA Lakers 113
New Jersey 110
Philadelphia 107
Milwaukee 104
Sacramento 97
Utah 94
Chicago 96
Atlanta 92
Houston 99
Washington 89
San Antonio 104
Dallas 92
Denver 96
New York 77
Portland 109
Minnesota 88
Vancouver 99
Boston 98
Phoenix 93
Golden State 83
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Coach George Karl tries to explain what happened to the Bucks in the final minutes of the game.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ray Allen isn't convinced that the Sixers are a better team than his Bucks.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
Larry Brown Official Site
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