With Keith Van Horn sidelined and Allen Iverson playing poorly, the Houston Rockets took advantage against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Yao Ming had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Rockets defeated
Philadelphia 88-79 Friday night.
Iverson, playing with left knee bursitis, missed 19 of his 23 shots, including his final 16, and finished with just eight points -- all in the first quarter. He wasn't fouled and missed his only free throw.
The Sixers lost Van Horn to a foot injury in the second quarter.
An MRI revealed a strained plantar fascia and bone bruise. Van Horn
will be day-to-day.
"When you play so many games, you are going to have one of
these nights,'' Iverson said. "I struggled mentally and
physically. I just couldn't get on track. I just want to forget
this one.''
Iverson, who had his knee drained before the game, isn't sure if he'll play against Sacramento on Sunday.
"There's no way I can play like this,'' Iverson said. "I'm going to have to sit out. My wife didn't think I should play tonight, but I was stubborn. It didn't bother me before the game, but it got worse as the game went on.''
James Posey added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets moved
within one game of Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the
Western Conference.
"We're going to have to play like this every night,'' Posey
said. "We're still in the thick of things.''
Kenny Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Eric Snow added
17 points for the Sixers, who had their three-game winning streak
snapped and dropped to 20-6 since the All-Star break. The Sixers
are 1½ games behind first-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.
Houston, which trailed by 11 at halftime, scored the first 10
points of the fourth quarter, taking a 73-64 lead. Cuttino Mobley
began the run with a turnaround jumper and ended it with another
turnaround shot.
After the Sixers got within 73-68, the Rockets put it away with
a 12-4 run. Posey's third 3-pointer made it 82-72, and a 3-pointer
by Mobley gave Houston its biggest lead, 85-72, with 3:30 left.
"The significance of this game isn't just moving up in the standings,'' Yao said through his interpreter. "It was big for our spirits.''
Iverson, having perhaps his best all-around season, had averaged
30.8 points and 9.4 assists in his previous five games. But the
three-time NBA scoring champion couldn't find his shooting touch
all night. He had six assists.
"If AI is going to miss 16 straight, we're in trouble,'' Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "We didn't have anybody who could make a shot.''
A 16-4 run in the third quarter gave the Rockets a 60-58 lead.
The Rockets made six straight free throws before Steve Francis hit
a 17-foot jumper to tie it at 58. Francis then made another
17-footer to put Houston ahead by two.
The Sixers took a 40-29 lead following a 14-4 run midway through
the second quarter. Aaron McKie and Derrick Coleman hit consecutive
3-pointers during the spurt and Coleman closed it with a 20-foot
jumper.
nba playoff standings 在 2021 NBA Playoff Picture: Eastern & Western Conference ... 的推薦與評價
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