Allen Iverson scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and handed out 10 assists as Philadelphia defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on the road for the first time in nine years, 100-86.
The 76ers have been inconsistent this season, due mainly due to a struggling offense that had scored 100 points just once. But they placed six players in double figures and beat the Clippers in Los Angeles for the first time in seven visits since Dec. 27, 1992.
 Dikembe Mutombo flushes one over Lamar Odom. Catherine Steenkeste NBAE/Getty Images |
"After the disappointment of last night, to have our guys respond like they did was kind of nice," said 76ers coach Larry Brown, who was on the Clippers' bench the last time they lost at home to Philadelphia. "I thought we played great. We beat a talented, young team that is extremely well-coached and is playing at a high level."
Philadelphia went ahead for good midway through the second quarter and was clinging to a 65-63 lead in the third before scoring seven straight points to pull away.
Iverson made just 9-of-28 shots, including 5-of-12 in the final period, but he got plenty of help.
"I was just trying to take whatever the defense gave me," Iverson said. "I didn't have any type of plan, I just wanted to try to get in the lane and create as much as I could. I was just happy with my penetration and being able to hit the open guys. Then they would knock down their shots."
"I thought all-around this was Allen's best game," Brown said. "He got everybody involved. He didn't shoot it well, but he defended and got other people involved. We had a lot of great performances, and that is what it took."
Derrick Coleman had 17 points and 15 rebounds and Dikembe Mutumbo and Eric Snow added 15 points apiece as the Sixers improved to 4-2 since a season-high seven-game losing streak ended on December 14.
Aaron McKie scored 13 points off the bench and Matt Harpring added 10 on 4-of-5 shooting for Philadelphia, which shot 50 percent (40-of-80) and made 19-of-27 free throws.
"We're just trying to find ourselves as a team right now," McKie said. "Hopefully, this can be the castalyst for us. It's the sign of a good team to go out on the road and win."
Elton Brand scored 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who failed in a bid for their first four-game winning streak of the season. They had won four in a row at home.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 16-5 lead behind Michael Olowokandi, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter.
But the Sixers closed the period with a 16-7 run and took the lead for good, 39-37, on a dunk by Coleman with 5:08 left in the first half.
"This is one of those games when we never got into our rhythm," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "When we tried to make plays, we just turned the ball over. The story was turnovers."
The Clippers shot 47 percent (36-of-76) but committed 20 turnovers leading to 26 points for Philadelphia.
"We did a good job defensively," Brown said. "It's the first time in a long time we made someone else turn it over more than us, which was a big key."