SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Friday, June 1 Philly shows its toughness By Peter May Special to ESPN.com Larry Brown says he doesn't know how much gas his team has left in the proverbial tank going into Game 6 tonight in the Eastern Conference Finals in Milwaukee. Here's a thought, coach: Why worry? Larry Brown has plenty of reasons to be proud of his team. The coach of the Philadelphia 76ers is presiding over one of the more remarkable playoff stories we've seen in some time. Given what we've seen and come to expect from these fellows, the absolute last thing we expect tonight is for them to show up and play like a team on its last legs. No one knows that more than Brown, but we get the drift, coach. He's on to something special and he simply wants to make sure we all know about it. Consider it done, coach. The Sixers could easily lose tonight. They could get blown out. It's already happened before. They lead the series 3-2 with the knowledge that they have the homecourt advantage, such as it is, for Game 7 on Sunday. But we also know that if they do go down tonight, it won't be for a lack of effort or will. That may sound trite, but, in this instance, it's true. The Sixers are winning and persevering as much on guts and pride as anything else. Have you seen them try to score? Have you seen them try to go from end to end looking utterly exhausted? Have you seen Eric Snow go up and down the court looking like Long John Silver? Incredibly, with all their problems, the Sixers are a win away from the NBA Finals. You look at their team and you wonder -- how did they ever get this far? Brown has been unable to have anything resembling a normal NBA practice for months because his players need the down time to recuperate. Allen Iverson, the soul of the team, has taken more hits than Rasputin. George Lynch, a valued, if unheralded starter, is out with a broken foot (although you would not be surprised if he suited up any day now.) Eric Snow, the starting point guard for most of the season and one of Brown's mainstays, learned on Wednesday that he was playing with a broken bone in his foot. He merely went out and made two huge baskets to help the Sixers win the game. Tyrone Hill has been playing with a heavy heart, knowing his father may pass away at any time. This team is reminiscent of the gallant, 1987 Boston Celtics team, then on its (literally) last legs. Kevin McHale played the entire postseason with a broken bone in his foot. (If Snow wants any advice from McHale, it would be to sit down. McHale has long regretted his decision, but also knows that he never appeared in the NBA Finals again.) Bill Walton was limping and basically ineffective. Danny Ainge was coming off a knee injury. That team somehow found a way to make it to the Finals and came within a missed McHale rebound in Game 4 from making the Finals a seven-gamer against the Lakers. These Sixers, while not as old or as talented as those Celtics, appear to be every bit as gritty. Credit Brown with instilling this sense of pride and commitment. Credit the players for accepting it and running with it. We know there have been a few bumps along the way, particularly with the untamed Iverson. That has made this present run even more rewarding. ... Brown looks like a proud papa these days. Give him a healthy roster and he'd take his chances against anyone. But he doesn't have anything close to that and he knows it. For a long time now, the coach has been very quick to identify the players he feels are responsible for the success of the Sixers. Yes, there's always Iverson. He's a constant. But Brown always talks about Snow, Hill, Aaron McKie and Lynch as the people whose style of play epitomizes what the Sixers are all about. They are tough. They are selfless. They are players who know the game, understand their roles, and have embraced the team concept as a parent embraces a newborn. That is why Brown looks like a proud papa these days. Give him a healthy roster (Matt Geiger, Lynch, Snow, Iverson, McKie) and he'd take his chances against anyone. But he doesn't have anything close to that and he knows it. That is why the Sixers' two-steps-forward-one-step-back march through the East has been so compelling. Every time they look as though they're spent, they find another way to keep on truckin. Iverson, to be blunt, has been an offensive disaster this series. He's shooting -- are you ready? -- 27.5 percent. We've seen more shots of his daughter and mother than we've seen of ones going through the hoop. He was 5-of-27 against the Bucks in Game 5, a hideous shooting performance. Yet, his team won, in no small part because he also unhesitatingly stuck his 6-foot (to be generous) frame into traffic and pulled down nine rebounds. That was four more than Bucks' center Ervin Johnson. Iverson also had eight assists and four steals. The Sixers spent much of critical Game 5 running their offense through Dikembe Mutombo of all people. You may remember him. He's the big fellow who, when he played for a pretty good Atlanta team, could do little against Luc Longley. Mutombo has been sensational in this series. It almost makes you think that if the Sixers do get to meet the Lakers ... oh well, never mind. You can't blame the Bucks for wondering why this thing has gone the way it has. Milwaukee had two excellent chances to win Game 5 at the end and missed both. Milwaukee was the team which lost its cool and allowed the Sixers to have too many free shots in a close game. Milwaukee was the team that was up 2-1, in its own building, and allowed the Sixers back into the series. Now, we have Ray Allen moaning about marketing conspiracies. (Hey Ray, have you seen the TV ratings lately?) The only conspiracy going on in this series is the one in the Philadelphia locker room and huddle. It's a conspiracy of commitment and resolve. Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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