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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia 76ers played such dismal
defense against the second-worst team in the NBA that even reformed
bad boy Allen Iverson chimed in about the need for practice time.
|  | | Allen Iverson drives around the Wizards' Christian Laettner in the first half Friday. |
"Any practice would be good right now," said Iverson, who
scored 41 points as the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Washington
Wizards 107-102 Friday night. "If we get our chemistry together,
we'll be OK."
The Sixers have had very little practice time since the All-Star
break, which has been especially evident as they try to incorporate
Dikembe Mutombo, acquired a week ago from Atlanta.
Mutombo had 16 rebounds and 14 points, including three key free
throws in the final minute after Washington tied the game twice in
the fourth quarter and closed to 102-100 with 1:19 left.
Coach Larry Brown wasn't too critical of his team, but said he
looked forward to four days of practice before Wednesday night's
home game against New Jersey.
"Guys have been either sick or hurt," Brown said. "Tomorrow
we will walk through some stuff and hopefully iron some things out.
I think that it will be helpful for us."
Richard Hamilton scored a career-high 34 points for Washington,
which lost its sixth in a row. Mitch Richmond and Courtney
Alexander added 17 points each.
The Sixers led by as many as 16 in the third quarter but
struggled with poor shooting, bad passes and turnovers.
The crowd turned on the 76ers midway through the fourth, booing
as Matt Geiger replaced Mutombo and fouled Christian Laettner, who
hit both free throws during a 12-2 run. More boos followed when
Hamilton drove for a layup with 8:56 left to tie the game at 86-86,
the first time the game was even since early in the second quarter.
Iverson kept the Sixers in the game, scoring all his team's
points for the first seven minutes and making all but one of the
Sixers' fourth-quarter field goals. It was Iverson's 15th game this
season scoring 40 or more points.
"They shot very well and we made some mistakes down the
stretch," said Mutombo, who had three of the team's 14 turnovers.
"They had very good views of the basket."
The Wizards closed to 102-100 after a 3-pointer by Alexander
with 1:50 left.
The Sixers scored nine of their final 14 points on foul shots.
Mutombo made one of two free throws with 51 seconds left after
Laettner was called for an offensive foul. The big man hit both
foul shots 15 seconds later after Laettner missed a layup.
"I was proud of the fact that we fought back to put ourselves
in a position where we had a chance to win the game," Wizards
coach Leonard Hamilton said.
Snow had 15 points and 11 assists, notching his first
double-double since returning Feb. 13 from ankle surgery. Snow
scored in double figures 11 of 15 games before going on the injured
list Dec. 9, but averaged just 5.1 points in the nine games he's
been back.
Game notes
Charles Barkley, who played for the 76ers from 1984-92,
will become the seventh Philadelphia player to have his number
retired. Barkley's No. 34 will be raised to the rafters of the
First Union Center during halftime March 31. ... Washington's
Tyrone Nesby was placed on the injured list Friday with a sprained
right ankle and lower back strain. Rookie draft pick Mike Smith was
re-signed, but he did not play. ... The Wizards had only one player
scoring more than 20 points for the first time in five games.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Seattle 86
Indiana 83
Philadelphia 107
Washington 102
Charlotte 105
Atlanta 99
Boston 103
Utah 99
Orlando 120
Cleveland 94
Toronto 107
New Jersey 90
Miami 97
Detroit 93
Chicago 81
New York 72
Minnesota 89
Denver 71
LA Clippers 88
Sacramento 81
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