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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia 76ers erased a 17-point
deficit without much problem. The 3-point deficit provided by Steve
Smith proved insurmountable.
|  | | Damon Stoudamire, who scored 13 points, drives to the hoop ahead of Allen Iverson. |
Smith hit a 3-pointer and Damon Stoudamire added a scoop shot in
the final 63 seconds Friday night as the Portland Trail Blazers
improved on the NBA's best record with a 97-91 victory over
Philadelphia.
The Blazers, off to their best start since 1990-91, displayed
two of the most important traits of a championship contender. They
built a big lead with unselfishness and surprising fluidity for a
team that's been together only 10 games. Then they thwarted
Philadelphia's comeback with playoff-like poise.
"They share the ball, they share time. They're a real team,"
Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "I think they've got a focus like
they're going to sacrifice anything to win a championship."
Allen Iverson received his NBA scoring championship plaque
before the game, then spent the rest of the night yelling at the
referees. He stopped that for a moment to hit a jumper that tied it
at 87-all with 1:32 left.
Smith, who sat out much of the fourth quarter, made an open
3-pointer to make it 90-87 with 1:03 left. Iverson airballed a
driving jumper, and Stoudamire tossed in a nifty underhanded shot
to lift the Blazers (9-1) to their fifth straight victory.
"I don't (care) about a moral victory," said Iverson, who drew
a technical foul and barked at the refs on nearly every trip down
the floor. "That's a game we're supposed to win."
Iverson might be underestimating the Blazers, who got their
third straight road victory and are off to their best start since
the 1990-91 team that won 63 games and lost to the Lakers in the
Western Conference finals.
All five starters scored in double figures for the poised,
precise Blazers, led by Rasheed Wallace's 21 points. Smith scored
19, Arvydas Sabonis had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Scottie
Pippen had 15 points and nine assists.
"We use a lot of guys, and we have confidence in all of them,"
Dunleavy said.
Smith said, "That's the beauty of our team. It doesn't matter
who scores."
Iverson had his second straight shaky game, scoring 26 points on
8-for-22 shooting. The Sixers lost their second straight in a tough
stretch that includes a home game Monday against San Antonio.
Unlike Dunleavy, Brown is having trouble finding minutes for his
players. Iverson's mood seemed to sour after he sat out for 4:41 in
the first half, a long stretch for him.
"You've got one guy who plays 40-something minutes a game and
he gets mad every time you take him out," Brown said, an obvious
reference to Iverson. "How are we going to do this?"
The Blazers appeared ready to break the game open with an 8-2
run including consecutive fastbreak dunks by Pippen and Wallace
that made it 72-57 with 2:33 left in the third. But Philadelphia
recovered with nine points in the final 39 seconds of the period -- two 3-pointers by Billy Owens and one by Iverson with eight-tenths
of a second left -- to cut it to 76-68.
After the Sixers cut it to 78-72 early in the fourth, Iverson
was called for his fourth foul after getting tangled up with Greg
Anthony. Iverson lay on the court during a timeout, but returned.
Larry Hughes hit a jumper, and George Lynch converted an
offensive rebound to cut it to 80-76 with 8:38 left.
Game notes
The Blazers led 53-41 at halftime, and it would have been
much worse if they hadn't missed 11 of 20 free throws. They were
21-for-35 in the game. ... Iverson was 8-for-27 for 24 points
Wednesday night in a 98-93 loss to Miami that followed five
straight 30-point games. ... Sixers president Pat Croce will have
the next set of X-rays Monday on his left leg, which was
reconstructed following a motorcycle accident. Doctors believe a
bone is growing too quickly and getting in the way of the bones
that are trying to regenerate. If X-rays confirm that, Croce will
have his fifth operation Tuesday in which a surgeon will have to
break the fibula and reset it.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 109
New Jersey 96
Atlanta 105
Indiana 99
Toronto 106
LA Clippers 100
Charlotte 103
Orlando 92
Detroit 101
Cleveland 90
Minnesota 89
Utah 84
Portland 97
Philadelphia 91
Sacramento 103
Dallas 94
Phoenix 96
New York 81
LA Lakers 103
Chicago 95
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