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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Philadelphia 76ers found their answer on
the free throw line.
Allen Iverson scored 25 points and the 76ers shot 21-for-32 from the line in a 102-82 victory over the Washington Wizards on
Wednesday night.
Iverson, who caught two elbows from Rod Strickland in the physical game, scored 13 points in the first half and scored 20 or
more points for the ninth straight game.
Iverson was not bothered by the Wizards' physical game plan.
"I guess people feel that the way to stop me is to beat me up," Iverson said. "But nine times out of 10, when people try to beat me up, they just wake me up."
The Wizards, slowed by 23 turnovers, had eight of their 16 free
throw attempts in the fourth period, when the game was out of
reach.
"Obviously, they were able to play a lot more aggressive
without putting us on the foul line," Wizards' coach Leonard
Hamilton said. "I thought we had an exceptional number of fouls
called, but whether we actually committed all of them, we obviously
can all debate about that."
Washington, which lost its eighth straight, cut a 13-point
deficit to three points, 51-48, with 7:29 to play in the third
quarter. Philadelphia responded with a 16-2 run over the next four
minutes.
"They had an 8-0 run on us, and that's when we called
timeout," Hamilton said. "And at that point, it didn't seem like
we had the same fight that had gotten it cut down to three."
The Wizards continued to struggle offensively. Felipe Lopez led
Washington with 16 points. Jahidi White scored 14, but Juwan Howard
was held to seven points.
"The game was over at the beginning of the second half. We came
out with no energy," White said. "I think we can match physically
with any team. It was just a bad game."
Theo Ratliff dominated inside, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13
rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. Tyrone Hill had 14
points and nine rebounds.
"We had some guys do some really good things," Philadelphia
coach Larry Brown said. "Theo was tremendous, and we got a lift
from our bench."
After a competitive first quarter, Philadelphia used a 16-5 run
in the first seven minutes of the second to increase its lead to
43-30. The Sixers led 49-38 at the intermission.
Game notes
Earlier in the week, the Wizards were encouraged by team
owner Abe Pollin to attend sessions with motivational speakers. In
their first game since the sessions, Washington shot 39 percent and
had its lowest point total at home since scoring 75 against Atlanta
on Nov. 28. ... The 76ers have beaten the Wizards/Bullets 129
times, the most wins against any team in franchise history. ...
Matt Geiger, who had missed the last four games with a strained quadriceps, returned to action Wednesday, but was held scoreless in four minutes. ... Washington matched a season-low for points in a
second quarter with its 13-point effort in the second. ... Lopez scored all of his first-half points in the first quarter and accounted for 10 of Washington's first 16 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Chicago 104
Boston 86
Indiana 97
Dallas 92
Philadelphia 102
Washington 82
Charlotte 101
Sacramento 90
Detroit 92
Atlanta 69
Phoenix 103
San Antonio 93
Milwaukee 111
Utah 102
Seattle 94
Vancouver 93
Miami 94
LA Clippers 88
Portland 96
LA Lakers 86
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Larry Brown Official Site
Juwan Howard Official Site
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