Allen Iverson scored 29 points and the 76ers -- sporting headbands -- wrapped up the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter and cruised to a 102-81 victory.
It had been a rough first half for the 76ers. Affected by injuries and acclimating new players, the defending Eastern Conference champions sputtered to a 12-18 mark in their 2001 games.
The Sixers spent New Year's Eve in Phoenix and rumors surfaced that nomadic coach Larry Brown's resignation was imminent. Brown refuted those rumors Wednesday afternoon and many players -- perhaps in a show of solidarity -- donned headbands for this game.
 Allen Iverson led the Sixers' domination of the third with 10 of his team's 36 points. Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images |
"I don't care about no rumors, about what's going on (with Brown)," Iverson said. "I never thought about it at all. I'm tired of hearing about that. He didn't tell us he was thinking about leaving, so that's not something I've been thinking about."
While most wore black wraps, Iverson and Eric Snow were sporting bright red numbers. Whatever the reason, the new look worked as Philadelphia put together its offense and defense for one of the few times this season.
The Sixers held the Suns to 14 points in the third period, when they turned a 52-46 halftime lead into a blowout. They limited Phoenix to a season low in points and reached triple figures for just the third time this season.
Dikembe Mutombo scored 18 points and Matt Harpring added 15 and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia. Despite not wearing headbands, the frontcourt duo helped offset the absence of forward Derrick Coleman, who served a one-game suspension for throwing a punch at Utah's Karl Malone.
"Matt and Dikembe reneged on us," Iverson said. "We got some of our team on the same page. But we've still got a couple of guys we need to reach out to."
"I told them I'm 35 years old," Mutombo said. "I think I'm past the age to wear a headband."
Brown had no complaints with the fashion statement.
"If it helps us win games, that's fine," Brown said. "Matty and Dikembe didn't wear one and they played great. But the guys who wore them played equally as good. I'm sure we'll see them in Seattle (on Friday)."
The Suns had a three-game winning streak snapped. They have lost two of their last four home meetings with the Sixers after winning 11 in a row.
"We don't have any urgency on the defensive end," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "We have gone through the motions through many of our games. They just came in here tonight and ripped our hearts out."
Philadelphia opened the second half with a 22-4 run. Harpring scored six points and Iverson five in the surge, which was capped at 74-50 by recent signee Jabari Smith's layup with 4:38 remaining. Phoenix called timeout and left the court to boos.
"We went small," Iverson said. "That gave us a chance to go up and down. We were able to rotate because of our quickness. It was simple. We were just quicker than they were."
With 2:52 left, Suns guard Penny Hardaway collided with Sixers guard Speedy Claxton and suffered a bruised right shin. He left the game and did not return.
"It was aching me when I ran down," Hardaway said. "I looked down and I saw a knot consistently growing, so I asked to come out of the game. They took X-rays; they were negative."
Iverson scored 10 points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave Philadelphia its largest lead at 88-60. Phoenix got no closer than 17 points thereafter.
The Suns were outscored 36-14 in the third period, marking their season low and their opponents' season high. Phoenix made just 6-of-20 shots and committed five turnovers.
Philadelphia shot 44 percent (34-of-77) from the field and held Phoenix to 37 percent (33-of-90) while owning a 52-39 edge in rebounds and a 29-11 advantage in points from the line.
Stephon Marbury scored 17 points on just 4-of-20 shooting and added 10 assists for the Suns.