|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Dec. 4 7:00pm ET
76ers improve to 5-2 without Iverson | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Don't tell the Philadelphia 76ers that they are undermanned. Philadelphia defeated Boston 77-74 on Saturday night and improved to 5-2 without star guard Allen Iverson. "I'm excited about how well this team has played, especially since we are a tired bunch," said 76ers coach Larry Brown. "We just found a way to win." The 76ers were up by as much as 18 points in the second quarter, but trailed by two with under two minutes to play in the fourth. "No one panicked," said 76ers forward Tyrone Hill, who had 14 points, including four in the final two minutes. "We've been in this situation for the last two weeks." Hill, who also had nine rebounds, scored four straight points after the 76ers had fallen behind by two late in the fourth quarter. He made two free throws with 1:51 left and then sank a jumper from the baseline with 1:08 remaining to give the 76ers a 76-74 lead. After each team turned it over, Boston had a chance to tie but Kenny Anderson missed an 18-footer and Aaron McKie grabbed the rebound. McKie only hit one of two foul shots, but Antoine Walker's 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short. "With the game on the line, we didn't contain them," said Celtics coach Rick Pitino. George Lynch had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Matt Geiger, McKie and Larry Hughes had 10 each for the 76ers. Philadelphia, which has won five of its last six. "It shows you how much heart this team has," Hill said. "Everybody has played a part. Every game is a grind until we get our regular rotation back." Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 22 points and Tony Battie had 16 points and 15 rebounds Boston, which lost for the fourth time in five games. The Celtics had trailed, 71-69 with 2:44 left in the fourth when Pierce sank a 3-pointer from the left side to give Boston its first lead of the game. Lynch then tied the game again when he hit one of two free throws on Philadelphia's next possession. Anderson followed that with an 18-footer to give Boston a 74-72 advantage. The 76ers used a 13-2 run at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter to open up a 33-16 advantage. The lead reached 18 midway through the second when Larry Hughes sank a jumper to put Philadelphia ahead 40-22. The Celtics did close the gap to 45-34 at halftime. "We didn't get off to a good start and that really hurt us," said Walker.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS New York 92 New Jersey 82
Philadelphia 77
  | |||||