The first half was Reggie Miller's. The game belonged to Allen Iverson.
Iverson scored a career playoff-high 45 points, including 19 in the third quarter, as the Philadelphia 76ers overcame Miller's 41 points, beating the Indiana Pacers 116-98 Tuesday night to even their first-round series at 1-1.
Game 3 of the best-of-five Eastern Conference quarterfinals is Saturday in Indiana.
"I'm going to remember this game for a long time," said Iverson, who also had nine assists. "I've been playing a lot off my God-given ability. This game took a lot of thinking. I'm pleased with my mental aspect coming into the game... When guys doubled me, I found my teammates and they hit the shots. I don't think I forced too many things."
Aaron McKie had 19 points and George Lynch added 16 for Philadelphia, which finished as the top team in the East for the first time since 1983-84.
Jalen Rose had 18 and Jermaine O'Neal added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who were down just 61-59 at halftime after getting 33 from Miller.
"I wish it was reversed," Miller said. "The game is four quarters. I hate doing things early. I like doing it late."
Iverson scored 14 of Philadelphia's final 17 points in the third, including the last 10. He drilled a 17-footer, another long jumper and hit a 3-pointer to give the Sixers their biggest lead to that point, 88-76, with 1:11 left.
After Rose hit a jumper, Iverson nailed another 19-footer as the sellout crowd of 20,739 at the First Union Center chanted "MVP, MVP" for the league's scoring champion.
Iverson pumped his fist, raised his arms and cupped his ear, imploring the fans to make more noise before he finished the quarter at the foul line, giving the Sixers a 91-78 lead on a free throw.
Indiana didn't get closer than 10 in the fourth.
"It was a phenomenal performance and it took that," Sixers coach Larry Brown said of Iverson's play.
Miller, whose three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left in Game 1 lifted the Pacers to a 79-78 comeback victory, opened the game with a 3-pointer and proceeded to hit shots from all over the court.
He scored seven straight points three different times -- at the start of the game, midway through the first and to begin the second.
Four Sixers -- Eric Snow, Kevin Ollie, Iverson and McKie -- tried to guard Miller in the first half and none could stop him.
Even Pacers coach Isiah Thomas was excited after Miller's running jumper gave Indiana a 39-37 lead midway through the second. The normally reserved Thomas clapped his hands and low-fived Miller as he ran down the court.
But Miller missed all three of his shots in the third and scored only two points on free throws as Iverson took over, helping the Sixers break open a tight game.
Miller finished 14-of-22, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Iverson was 15-of-27, including 3-for-7 from beyond the arc.
"They did a good job of recognizing where Reggie was (in the second half)," Thomas said. "They were double-teaming him and we didn't do a good job of finding the open guys inside."
Philadelphia stressed the importance of getting the ball inside to its big men -- Dikembe Mutombo and Tyrone Hill -- after the guards took 57 of 78 shots in the opener. But Mutombo and Hill combined for three shots in the first half and neither scored.
Mutombo finally scored on a layup with 6:23 left in the third, and finished with three points and 11 rebounds, one of his worst games since joining the Sixers in a deal at the trade deadline.
"We were making so many shots it's tough to get the big guys involved," Brown said.
Miller had 16 points in the first quarter, nearly matching his total of 17 in Game 1. He was just 5-of-21 in the opener, but made his fifth shot with 4:04 left in the first.
Thomas was very critical of the referees, even though Indiana had three fewer fouls. Thomas was most upset that Philadelphia had 17 foul shots in the third.
"I hope they allow our players to move around and run, and not be physically abused," Thomas said.
Notes: Miller fell six points shy of Sleepy Floyd's playoff record for points in a half. Floyd had 39 for Golden State in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 10, 1987. ... Iverson's previous playoff high was 40 points against Charlotte last year. ... Indiana has never lost a playoff series in which it won the first game, going 11-0 since 1993-94. ... The Pacers are 5-2 in playoff games at the First Union Center. ... Thomas got a technical for arguing a foul call early in the third. ... Austin Croshere scored 10 points in a reserve role and fouled out with 5:01 left. ... Philadelphia made seven 3-pointers, a team playoff record.
jordan 1 lost and found 在 pennyccw Youtube 的精選貼文
Allen Iverson kept the ball this time.
A week after passing up a chance at a winning shot against the Utah Jazz, Iverson hit an off-balance runner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
The play was for me to run the clock down and try to get to the basket, he said. There wasnt much time for me to create anything else.
Last Friday, Iverson passed the ball to Rodney Stuckey, who missed a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime, and Utah went on to win.
Having already scored a dozen points in the fourth quarter on Friday, Iverson took things in his own hands.
That was a great play by Allen, Pistons coach Michael Curry said. He hadnt had much going for him in the first three quarters, but then he took over the game.
Detroit have taken eight straight against the Thunder, and havent lost to the franchise at home since the former Seattle SuperSonics won 93-72 on Dec. 12, 2003. The Pistons didnt have an easy time Friday, though, as they struggled to beat Oklahoma City (3-27).
Were a young team that is still learning how to finish games, and they are a great team that knows how to do that, Chris Wilcox said. A.I. had a terrific fourth quarter, and we just didnt have an answer for him.
Thats been the story of the Pistons season. They have wins over the Lakers and Cavaliers, but have lost to the hapless Wizards and Timberwolves.
We keep having lapses, Iverson said. This team only has three wins, so they are going to be hungry, but we have beaten two of the best teams in the league and lost to two of the worst.
It almost happened again Friday, even after Iversons off-balance jumper. Jeff Green nearly tipped in a halfcourt alley-oop, but the ball bounced twice off the rim before falling harmlessly away.
It was a good look, and Jeff is one of our better leapers, Oklahoma city coach Scott Brooks said. It just slipped out of his hands. Its unfortunate, because it would have been a great overtime.
Iverson led the Pistons with 22 points, and Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
The Pistons looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters. Oklahoma City shot 39 percent through three periods, but trailed only 66-63 heading into the fourth.
Detroit took advantage of two turnovers by the Thunder in the first minute of the final period to expand its lead to 70-63.
The Pistons were up 14 midway through the fourth, but an 11-0 run pulled Oklahoma City to 84-81 with 2 minutes left.
Iverson then threw the ball away, and Durants jumper made it a one-point game with 1:33 left. Rodney Stuckey answered with a driving layup, but Iverson fouled Russell Westbrook, and the rookie split the free throws to make it 86-84.
Stuckey then shot an airball, and the Thunder called timeout with 54 seconds left. Durant beat Prince for the tying layup, but Stuckey found Antonio McDyess for an open layup with 27.2 seconds to go.
Joe Smith made it 88-all with a 20-footer—the eighth straight shot made by Oklahoma City. Iverson ran the clock down to 5 seconds before heading for the basket and throwing in a runner while surrounded by defenders.
The best feeling is when you are having a quiet game, and you arent doing much on the offensive end, and then your coach and teammates still trust you with that last shot, he said. Its easy when youve already scored 30 or 40 points.
jordan 1 lost and found 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最佳解答
Anthony Carter made all three of his baskets count. Especially that last one.
His floater in the lane with 0.8 seconds left in double overtime gave the Denver Nuggets a 112-111 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points and had a career-high 16 rebounds, and Allen Iverson had 36 points and nine assists for Denver, which ended a two-game losing streak.
With the Rockets focusing on Anthony and Iverson on the last possession, Carter got the chance to be the hero. He got the ball at the top of the key, used a pump fake to get Bonzi Wells in the air and then stepped under him and hit the winner.
"Bonzi switched off and went to 'Melo and I was wide open," said Carter. "He went for the shot fake, I stepped under him for a little runner. In that situation you don't have a chance to think about much."
The Rockets have lost three straight and five of their last six.
"You have to make people shoot over you," Houston head coach Rick Adelman said. "You can't go for a pump fake."
Yao Ming had 26 points and 19 rebounds and Luther Head scored a season-high 22 for the Houston, which played without leading scorer Tracy McGrady, who sat out with a sore left knee.
"We hung tough, dug deep inside and found some energy to find a double-overtime game," said Rafer Alston, who had 18 points. "This one was tough. We were right to end and they hit a big shot."
The Rockets nearly pulled out the win. Yao's two free throws with 4.5 seconds left gave the Rockets the lead, but Carter, who had six points in the game, came through with a 15-footer.
"It looked good all the way," Iverson said. "They played good defense on 'Melo and myself, and we had another teammate step up and make a play."
The game was back and forth in both overtimes. Houston led 106-103 before Chucky Atkins, who had 13 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:32 left.
Marcus Camby scored his only two points of the game with 59.5 seconds left, but Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left to give the Rockets a 109-108 lead. Atkins, who missed the first 24 games of the season with a groin injury, hit an 18-foot jumper with 20.1 seconds left to give Denver a 110-109 lead.
"We did a lot of good things, we just didn't get a chance to finish it," Adelman said. "They made two big shots at the end."
The Nuggets led 100-97 in the first overtime but a free throw by Alston with less than a minute left in the period sent the game to a second overtime.
The Rockets trailed 94-87 with 1:40 left in regulation but scored the final seven points, the last on a 3-pointer by Head.
"It was a gutty win," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "Both teams hit shots, made some free throws. It was unfortunate somebody had to lose."
Anthony, who had eight points on 2-for-17 shooting in the first half, found his stroke in the third quarter. He hit all eight of his shots in the period, and after making a 21-foot jumper from the wing to give Denver a 69-63 lead, he pumped his fist. He scored 16 points in the period. He hit his first shot of the fourth quarter before a 19-footer rimmed out.
"I don't think I could have shot worse than I shot in the first half," Anthony said.
The Nuggets led 44-42 at halftime thanks to their advantage from the free-throw line. Denver outscored Houston 12-2 from the foul line in the first half, when the Rockets were whistled for 11 fouls to the Nuggets' five. Houston didn't attempt a foul shot until Yao went 1-for-2 from the line with 1:30 left in the second period.
Denver trailed 27-23 early in the second when Iverson, who had 18 of the Nuggets' first 26 points, scored on a three-point play and Atkins hit two 3-pointers to spark an 11-2 Denver run.
The Rockets used the 3-point shot to take the lead after the first quarter. Head hit two of them and Alston another to help give Houston a 23-18 lead heading into the second period.
Game notes
Nuggets F Kenyon Martin left the game in the second half with a leg injury and did not return. He is questionable for Friday's game in Portland. ... Head started in place of the injured McGrady, who was hurt in the first half of Houston's loss to Orlando on Wednesday. ... Rockets G Steve Francis was not with the team because of the flu.