Sports / Basketball |
76ers win first meeting against Iverson(Associated Press )Updated: 2007-01-04 08:59 The Philadelphia 76ers responded to Allen Iverson's verbal shots by beating their former superstar on the court. Iverson scored 30 points in his first game against the 76ers, but Kyle Korver had 26 and former Denver star Andre Miller had 17 to lead Philadelphia to a 108-97 victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday night. After the morning shootaround, Iverson again ripped the team that traded him to Denver on Dec. 19, repeating his contention that he should have had more say in the Sixers' style. However, Iverson credited the Sixers after the game for how they defended him. "I couldn't get a rhythm in the beginning of the game. When I found it and got into a little groove, it was too late," he said. "If anybody knows what I can do, they know, and they ran some people at me. They used the zone, and it was effective." In other NBA games Tuesday night, it was: Orlando 91, L.A. Clippers 86; Cleveland 82, San Antonio 78; Golden State 97, New Orleans 89; Phoenix 97, Chicago 96; Dallas 112, Seattle 88; and Sacramento 112, New York 100. Iverson was slow to get going, hitting just two of nine shots and committing three of his game-high seven turnovers in the first quarter. He finished 10-of-24 from the floor. "I thought he was a little excited with the turnovers early in the first half and then not being able to make shots, not only he but everybody," said Denver coach George Karl, whose Nuggets are without NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, the league's top scoring tandem before their suspensions last month for slugging it out with the New York Knicks. The Sixers had lost 14 of 16 road games and 19 of their last 23 overall, but scored 100 points for the first time in 16 games to improve to 4-4 since the trade that sent Joe Smith and Miller to Philadelphia, along with two first-round draft picks in 2007, for Iverson. Miller also had 10 assists against his former team and Smith scored 12 points. "This was all business," Smith said. Ditto for Miller. "I got a lump in my throat when the crowd reacted" with applause during introductions, Miller said. "Other than that, it was all business for me." Iverson also had a parting shot for official Steve Javie, who ejected him for his second technical with 1:44 remaining. "I thought I got fouled ... and I said I thought that he was calling the game personal, and he threw me out," Iverson said. "His fuse is real short anyway, and I should have known that I couldn't say anything anyway. It's been something personal with me and him since I got in the league. This was just the perfect game for him to try and make me look bad." Tuesday morning, Iverson had said he felt a player of his stature and tenure should have been listened to when he criticized the Sixers' style of play last month, a condemnation that led to his departure from Philadelphia after 10 tumultuous seasons. "When you're losing basketball games, 12 of 14, 18 of 20 basketball games, you should listen to somebody because something obviously isn't working," he said. Iverson said he hadn't forgotten the way Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks and team owner Billy King handled the complaints that led to his departure from Philadelphia. "I wasn't going to try and go out there and create some fake attitude," Iverson said of not greeting Cheeks before the game. "I am not about that. Just acting like everything is all right, because it's not. "Honestly, I hope it goes away, but every time we play the Sixers, I know it is going to come back. I just want to be a Denver Nugget and not dwell on things that happened in Philadelphia. I owe it to my teammates to just play basketball." |
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