Iverson's 48 helps Sixers end Lakers' streak at 19
By Mike Lopresti
Gannett News Service
LOS ANGELES — So much for history. So much for perfection, and the mirage of dominance that had the crowd chanting "Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!" before the opening tip of the NBA Finals.
It sounded good, but then they had to play Game 1. And the Philadelphia 76ers, with 48 points of inspiration from Allen Iverson, crushed the fallacy of Los Angeles Lakers' invulnerability.
It crumbled last night with a 107-101 Sixers' overtime victory before a disbelieving Staples Center crowd, the Lakers' first loss in 20 games, going back to April 1.
"This is unexpected," said Philadelphia coach Larry Brown. "But it's kind of neat."
"Anybody who bet on it," Iverson said of the sweep, "there are some broke people out there."
It fell apart under the extraordinary magic of Iverson, who scored 30 points in the first half, went cold, then scored seven points in the last 1:46 of overtime when the Lakers' jugular was exposed.
"Everybody counted us out," Iverson said. "But we came here to win.
"There are so many experts. But the only people who know are the guys on the court. We've got heart. We play with that first. We play with talent second."
It collapsed despite 44 points and 20 rebounds from Shaquille O'Neal.
"It's a series now," O'Neal said. "We just have to get it back. And we will."
It vanished as Kobe Bryant's offense disappeared, with only 15 points, being outshined and outplayed by Iverson. And as Derek Fisher went scoreless, missing all four shots. And as O'Neal, despite all his power, suffered the familiar free-throw demons, missing 12 of 22.
"One positive that can come out of it is we can stop hearing all the sweep talk," Bryant said.
And as the Lakers blew a five-point lead with 2:35 left in overtime.
"You're down five points to the Lakers and everybody's got their brooms out," Iverson said. "That's what drives us. Everybody saying we can't do it."
And now the Lakers are suddenly faced with a must-win situation tomorrow night here in Game 2. How quickly the world has changed.
"I'm kind of relieved that it's over in some ways," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of the now-sullied 11-0 postseason record. "But it does put some pressure on us to win on our home court.
"The streak was great but now it's time to get back to business, about playing ball."
Iverson's 3-pointer with 1:20 left in overtime put the Sixers ahead to stay, 101-99.
He had disappeared after his big first half, hounded by Tyronn Lue, who was trying to be a hero off the Lakers' bench.
Under Lue's shadow, Iverson had scored but one field goal in 23 minutes in the second half and overtime.
"I felt like he did a lot of holding," Iverson said.
But when the big shot came, left alone for an instant, Iverson made it. Then he added another with Lue in his face.
Later, with the score 103-101, Eric Snow hit a one-footed leaner to help clinch it.
Two vital statistics: The Lakers' 19 turnovers in the face of Philadelphia's defensive pressure. And Iverson outscoring the Lakers' backcourt of Bryant and Fisher, 48-15.
The Sixers had other big contributions. Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points and 16 rebounds, his importance underlined by what happened when he wasn't there.
And 10 points from Matt Geiger, a sore-legged big man who had scored only five field goals in the entire postseason, but five more last night.
The long 10-day sabbatical since the Lakers' romp in the Western Conference finals undoubtedly had something to do with it. But so did the Sixers.
The game first zigged the Lakers' way — a 16-0 run for an 18-5 lead in the first six minutes.
"I thought it was Middle Tennessee against North Carolina," Brown said. "I was petrified. But our guys hung in."
Then it zagged the Sixers' way — a 73-58 gap midway through the third period.
And then it zigged back the Lakers' way when Mutombo picked up his third foul in the third period and headed for the bench, already with 11 rebounds and a big night of defense.
He sat the last 6:18 of the third period, in an enormous gamble by Brown, who preferred to save him for the fourth quarter, even as the lead began to melt.
Free of Mutombo, O'Neal went on a rampage, with 14 points in the last five minutes of the third quarter, the other Sixers powerless to stop him.
By the end of the quarter, the lead was down to 77-75.
Together, they raced to the last minutes of regulation, as the opportunities passed by for both teams.
Bryant finally pulled the Lakers even 92-92 with 3:26 left, and O'Neal's dunk put them ahead, 94-92, with two minutes to go.
Snow's basket tied it, and Mutombo had a chance to put them ahead with two free throws with 34 seconds left. To that point, Philadelphia was 19-for-19 from the line. He missed both.
In the last 34 seconds, Bryant turned the ball over trying to wheel through three defenders. The Sixers could get no decent last-second shot because they were looking for Iverson, and Iverson was blanketed.
Each team somewhat frustrated, they gasped together toward overtime, in a series that supposedly would not have such things.
"No one seems to be giving us a chance," Snow said. "We feel like we belong here."
