Allen Iverson 22pts vs Cavs 00/01 NBA MVP *8-0 Starts
PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) — With a strong finish, the Philadelphia 76ers matched the best start in franchise history.
Allen Iverson and Theo Ratliff powered a third-quarter charge and the 76ers remained unbeaten by controlling the second half in a 107-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. At 8-0, the Sixers are the NBA’s lone undefeated team. They tied the start of the 1979-80 squad, which featured Julius
Erving, Andrew Toney, Darryl Dawkins and current assistant coach Maurice Cheeks and reached the NBA Finals.
“It should mean a lot to them. I’m proud of my team,” Sixers coach Larry Brown said. “I’m proud of the fact that we’ve had some injuries and we had a lot of guys step up and play well. We’ve played unselfishly, but it’s eight games and we have to keep that in mind.”
Philadelphia hosts Miami on Friday with a chance to break the club mark. The NBA record for best start is 15-0, shared by the 1949-50 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
“Everybody wants to be the first team that knocks us off,” said Iverson. “Everybody wants to be that team. It’s going to be tough. We have to really dig in and sneak some wins out of other teams’ houses. For right know, I’m just living for the moment and I just hope it continues. I’m glad I’m a part of it.”
Iverson scored 22 points, seven during an 18-0 surge that turned a five-point deficit into a 70-57 lead midway through the third period.
The Cavaliers missed eight straight shots during that stretch and Ratliff was a big reason. Saddled by foul trouble in the first half, the 6-10 center had three of his six blocks during the run. Ratliff also scored 15 points.
“He did a good job offensively but just his presence underneath caused them to miss some easy shots and get some 24-second violations,” Brown said. “But he’s always been that for us.
That’s why we need him out on the court. We can’t afford for him to get fouls and only play seven minutes in the first half. That’s one of the reasons why we had a problem defending in the
first half.”
“I was just doing the same old thing that I try to do every time I step out on the court — to be that intimidating factor as far as when guys try to get easy shots and easy layups,” Ratliff
said. “I let them know it’s not going to be that easy.
Philadelphia got a big offensive boost from George Lynch, who scored a season-high 23 points and kept his team in the game in the first half. The defensive-minded forward had not scored
more than 10 points in a game this season.
“I like him to do the dirty work,” Brown joked. “How many rebounds did he get? Just one defensive rebound so I have something to talk to him about. He did a lot of great things.”
“I knew he was going to say that,” Lynch said. “I had (Robert) `Tractor’ Traylor on me. He’s about 300 pounds to my 230 so he’s gonna win that battle the majority of the time. … The
team needed me to score some points the way we were going. I had the hot hand, some open looks and I was able to take advantage of them. I’ve had those looks all season, it’s just I
was making the shots tonight.”
Eric Snow contributed 13 and seven assists for Philadelphia, which was outshot and outrebounded but scored 29 points off 22 turnovers by Cleveland.
Former Sixer Clarence Weatherspoon scored 24 points, Robert Traylor added a career-high 17 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 16 for the Cavaliers (6-2). The frontcourt trio thrived while Ratliff was
on the bench with foul trouble but got little help from the perimeter players.
“We let them dictate the play to us,” Weatherspoon said. “We never got into a rhythm. They came after us and we just didn’t match it. It’s hard to come back on a team that has so many
scorers and plays a good half-court defense.”
The Cavs have lost their last six meetings with the Sixers.
Cleveland came in an even bigger surprise than Philadelphia, winning six of its first seven games despite having no player averaging more than 14 points or nine rebounds per game. The
Cavs opened the third period with consecutive baskets for a 57-52 lead before the Sixers took control.
Iverson, who has yet to score 30 points in a game this season, made a jumper and layup around a 3-pointer by Lynch, giving Philadelphia the lead for good at 59-57 with 9:39 left.
After a block by Ratliff, Snow set up Ratliff for a dunk and hit a shot. Iverson snaked his way for a three-point play and Snow made two free throws for a 68-57 lead.
Ratliff blocked two more shots and Iverson found Lynch for a dunk that capped the outburst. Iverson scored nine points in the quarter, which ended with Philadelphia holding an 81-71 lead.
Duration : 0:6:17
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5:00 Poor ball got …
5:00 Poor ball got whacked for not goin in the hoop by Allen Iverson.
lol AI with the …
lol AI with the sloppy braids in this one. and whos idea was it to put Harpring on him, he looks kinda scared.
Everybody!!! AI GOT …
Everybody!!! AI GOT HIS BRAIDS BACK!!!! YES!!! Im soo happy he got his hair in cornrows cuz it looks waaay more cooler that way!! Finally, i was wondering when he was going to stop fooling around with those sloppy haircuts and go back to his orginal self!!!! EVERYBODY, THE OLD IVERSON WITH BRAIDS IS BACK and is with Memphis. LOL!!! Aren’t yall happy!!!!!?
6:00.spoelstra..why …
6:00.spoelstra..why he is in the game?.
LOL you silly
LOL you silly
iverson with the …
iverson with the domestic violence braids
thats the only way …
thats the only way i see him winning a ring, but that scnerio i gave you could easily happen, or if the bobcats resign him and sign chris bosh or sommin in 2010
That sounds pretty …
That sounds pretty realistic. You’ve got a thoughtful mind right there. Lol. It would be good enough if that really happens.
why do u cover ai …
why do u cover ai with harping?
If AI’s gunna get a …
If AI’s gunna get a ring it’s gunna end up like this, ai will go to the bobcats for 1 year, average a lil over 20 ppg, have no problems with larry brown the whole season make it to the 1st or second round in the playoffs and have an alright year, then the detroit season will be behind him his contract will be up, teams will look at him better and maybe he’ll sign with a contender and play a secondary role and win a ring
More AI Vids pls …
More AI Vids pls pennyccw. Really appreciate it, rarely any hardcore AI fan that post Ai vids anymore.
Moreover, who knows he might retire next season, still “teamless” now
Sounds good to me. …
Sounds good to me. I just hope A.I. gets what he wanted and holds out for a ring this season or the next. He really deserves one.
who cares about the …
who cares about the rookies, rookies don’t win championships, i thought the bobcats lost doris diaw but they still have him, if they could trade felton for a james posey or battier, or a ben wallace type guy, not the actual ben wallace, but a big guy that can play d and bang in the post, they’d have a real nice team, they need to get rid of felton, he does not help teams, he’s real skilled but he don’t help teams
Hmmm… That sounds …
Hmmm… That sounds good to me. They should have gotten a big man in this year’s draft. They got the 12th pick and took Gerald Henderson. If it had been Tyler Hansbrough, Austin Daye or B.J. Mullens, it could have been better. Not to mention the draft’s No.1 steal, DeJuan Blair.
yea he’ll wear …
yea he’ll wear number 1 lol, but with ai its not how talented the players are around him, its what kind of players they are, the overloaded guards could be a problem but i don’t why the bobcats are so high on felton, they should trade him for a pf, then when ai’s done, they have augustin
Hmmm… I have to …
Hmmm… I have to admit Memphis would not play defense next season. The only solid defensive player on the team is Thabeet and he’s just a rookie. Come to think of it, A.I. can do well in Bobcats, especially when Larry Brown is the coach. Sad to say, he will not be donning that fan-favourite No.3 of his in Charlotte (taken by G.Wallace). =( If he does join, that is.
sounds alright but …
sounds alright but too much offense not enough defense, it’d be the same problem as the nuggets, think about the 01 sixers, the bobcats are a similar team, they got a lengthy center with chandler, g wallace plays d and runs the floor, ai loves to run, raja bell plays d and shoots a high percentage from the 3pt line, charlotte would be a great fit, felton and augustin dont deserve to be mentioned with iverson
My bad, I didn’t …
My bad, I didn’t mean another rookie. I was guessing, but I do remember reading on the NBA site or hearing it in video that Curry finds that Stuckey plays well with one of the starters, I know it’s not Wallace, Hamilton or Prince but it’s one of them
Well, think bout …
Well, think bout this.
C- Marc Gasol
PF- Zach Randolph
SF- Rudy Gay
SG- O.J. Mayo
PG- Allen Iverson
Bench- Mike Conley, Hasheem Thabeet, Darell Arthur.
Well, it sounds like a playoff team to me. And even if A.I. din get as much points as he wants, he could pretty much double his assists every game with so much qualities around him.
There’s another …
There’s another rookie in Detroit last season? Hmmm… let me see… Will Bynum? Is he whatcha talking bout?
I hope AI lands in …
I hope AI lands in Maimi or back in Philly. that would be nice 2 see
yeah age is …
yeah age is catching up, but rodney stuckey is in his place because the coach finds that rodney plays well with the other rookie, not sure which one, but i know thats the reason
hell yeah ! i think …
yeah ! i think he would fit in great and if they play jrue joliday he seems big enough to defend the shooting guards with brand iggy young speights and kapono they would just need a good center to be an amazing team
that’s curry’s …
that’s curry’s fault, his back is fine now, raymon felton is a joke, i watched the whole pistons season, ai can still score, the pistons treated him like shit, memphis would be horrible, oh come on nothen, ai is a scorer, he averaged 27 in denver 2 seasons ago, you don’t know basketball
The Bobcats needs a …
The Bobcats needs a scorer? Oh come on, though I’m an A.I. fan myself, I hate to admit that he has lost some of that scoring touch he has had during those MVP days. Age is catching up and he can’t do a thing on those back injuries. On another note, Felton is a reliable scoring option for Charlotte. If A.I.’s still so good, why does he let Rodney Stuckey take his place in Detroit?
I would say Memphis is the best destination for him but, oh well…
Good luck A.I.
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