Sixers also have fans
Allen Iverson knew to expect the nonstop Eagles chants. He made sure the 76ers received a few cheers, too.
Iverson scored 28 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 1:01 to play, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 106-104 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Neither team had much of a cushion in the final quarter, leading to a thrilling final few minutes and giving the sparse home crowd something to root for other than the Philadelphia Eagles’ appearance in the Super Bowl a few hours later.
“It’s just good to see people support them the way they did,” Iverson said. “I expected that, knowing that the game was going to be today. It’s just good to see they have the support like that.”
With tipoff only a few hours before the start of the Super Bowl, there were thousands of empty seats, plenty of fans in Eagles jerseys and the “E-A-G-L-E-S!” chant was out in full force in the second half. Each side of the arena took turns trying to outshout the other with the earsplitting rally yell.
Finally, someone shouted, “What about the Sixers?”
Few cared, though one front-row fan held a sign that read “I chose A.I. over T.O.”
Unlike Terrell Owens, there was no “will he or won’t he play” drama with Iverson, who needed X-rays Friday on his sprained left shoulder. He was in the starting lineup, banging and crashing like he always does. When he made a steal late in the fourth, it generated the first sustained chant for the Sixers.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced that,” guard Aaron McKie said of the pro-Eagles crowd.
Rockets 103, Lakers 102: At Houston, Yao Ming scored 23 points, including the winning free throws with 15.2 seconds left, to lead Houston to a victory over Los Angeles. Tracy McGrady had 21 points and Bob Sura had 19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and five steals for the Rockets, who have won four straight and eight of their last 10. Los Angeles forward Brian Cook missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds to play, and the Lakers fumbled away the ensuing rebound as the clock expired.
Celtics 103, Timberwolves 100: At Minneapolis, Paul Pierce scored 32 points, including 15 in the third quarter, to lead Boston over Minnesota. Gary Payton had 22 points and Ricky Davis added 12 points for the Celtics, who won their third consecutive game and evened their record at 24-24. That’s the same mark for the Timberwolves, who have a far different feeling about being .500 after losing their fifth straight. Sam Cassell’s contested 3-pointer from 29 feet at the buzzer came up well short of the rim. Michael Olowokandi had a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds.
Mavericks 122, Raptors 113: At Toronto, Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points to help Dallas outlast Toronto. Dallas led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, but the Raptors cut it to four before Jason Terry’s 3-pointer gave the Mavericks a seven-point lead with 36 seconds left. Michael Finley added 23 points for the Mavericks, who shot a season-high 60 percent from the field. Chris Bosh had a career-high 29 points for the Raptors and Jalen Rose added 22.