Philadelphia ? Allen Iverson wasn’t about to be stopped by a small cut and a few stitches.
Iverson hit the tying jumper with 7.2 seconds left in regulation and Corliss Williamson scored seven of his 15 points in overtime to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 108-100 win over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.
Iverson left briefly in the first quarter after he was cut on the head during a scrum underneath the basket. Three stitches later, Iverson was back looking for redemption after a sloppy performance a night earlier in a loss at New York.
This time, The Answer delivered.
“When you have a wide-open shot, you’ve got to take that shot,” he said.
Marc Jackson added 19 points and Kyle Korver 15 for the Sixers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Philadelphia scored the first seven points of overtime and held on for its first home win of the season.
“It was balanced out because a lot of guys were aggressive,” Iverson said.
Richard Jefferson scored 33 points for the Nets and Rodney Buford added 15, including 11 in the fourth quarter when his can’t-miss shooting provided a surprising offensive boost.
New Jersey could have used a few more makes from a shorter, easier distance late in the fourth
Jefferson, who also had 10 rebounds, and Alonzo Mourning missed four straight free throws with less than 20 seconds left, and seldom-used Josh Davis grabbed the last, crucial rebound for Philadelphia.
The Sixers called timeout and Iverson caught the inbounds pass, took Jacque Vaughn 1-on-1 and hit a fadeway from the left side, tying the score at 96.
The plan was for Korver to get the shot in the corner. When the play broke down, Iverson turned to Plan B, heading to the top of the key and waiting for everyone to clear out.
“I just elevated and made the shot,” he said.
Jefferson missed a jumper, sending the game into overtime.
Williamson, proving why he’s so valuable off the bench, was fresh after playing 18 minutes in regulation and opened overtime with a three-point play. Williamson added another short jumper in traffic for a 101-96 lead.
“He’s always been a go-to guy, in college and the pros,” Sixers coach Jim O’Brien said. “He was a go-to guy tonight.”
The Nets – who opened the game with 19 straight free throws – did little from the line in the fourth and overtime. They went 5-for-9 in the fourth, then missed all three in OT.
Philadelphia made 24 straight from the line before missing one in overtime.
The Sixers did a better job of holding onto the ball after committing 28 turnovers in Tuesday night’s loss at New York. The Sixers had only 12, and Iverson cut his total from nine to three.
“We needed a win real bad,” Korver said. “We kind of got embarrassed the last couple of games.”
Eric Williams had 17 points and Mourning 16 in 40 surprising minutes. Coach Lawrence Frank said before the game that Mourning would not play. Frank said he would bench Mourning “strictly as a precaution” one night after he played 37 minutes against Portland. Instead, Mourning made his second start since his kidney transplant after talking Frank into playing.
“I know how big my heart is,” Mourning said. “I’m really grateful for any opportunity I get to play. I feel I’ve been given a second chance, so I’ll play any time I can.”
Mourning was needed, providing a little extra oomph for the Nets a night after they beat the Trail Blazers 64-60. The 124-point total was only five off the previous record for combined scoring futility.
Jefferson’s free throw against the Sixers with 4:30 left in the third quarter gave the Nets 65 points.
Ending the third quarter tied 74-all was a big accomplishment for the Sixers – they had trailed by at least nine points through three quarters in every game this season.
Buford, who hadn’t scored more than nine points in a game this season, hit three straight jumpers in one stretch and the Nets added four points off three Philadelphia turnovers in the fourth.
Notes:@ The Sixers opened a five-game homestand, their longest of the season. … Iverson missed all five shots from the floor in the first half. … The Nets made 19 straight free throws before Williams missed in the third quarter. … Sixers G Aaron McKie left in the third quarter with a strained left rotator cuff. He’ll have an MRI on Thursday. … Nets F Jason Collins played only five minutes, leaving with a sprained ankle.
