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Game Preview | Reflections on a Competitive Rivalry

Written for Sixers.com by @SixersHistory's Curtis Harris

When the 76ers host the Indiana Pacers Friday at The Center, the latest installment - and an important one at that - of a long-standing rivalry will be renewed.

Entering the evening, the Sixers find themselves 0.5 game ahead of the Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings. Both clubs figure to be in the playoff picture come the spring.

When reflecting on the history the teams share, it would be hard not to think back on their battles from the most recent turn of the century. 

For the Sixers, a title contender had arisen by 2001. Built around the dynamic scoring force of Allen Iverson, the squad was an assemblage of defensive stalwarts, from Theo Ratliff and George Lynch to Dikembe Mutombo and Tyrone Hill.

In that era, Indiana was the Sixers’ chief rival.

Prior to 1999, the Sixers and Pacers had only met once in the playoffs (1981). They certainly made up for any lost vitriol, slogging it out for three straight postseasons through 2001.

Like any good rivalry, these showdowns featured a compelling arc.

The Pacers had been a title contender in the East since the 1994 season, but had yet to reach the Finals. Three times the Pacers lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals (1994, 1995, and 1998).

The Sixers, meanwhile, had struggled to reach the playoffs throughout the 1990s,

In hopes of making that contending leap, former Pacers coach Larry Brown was brought in as the Sixers’ head man.

In the course of the Sixers’ three-year rivalry with Indiana, the Pacers would finally break through the East and reach the Finals, doing so in 2000. The Sixers would finally get back to the playoffs, and reached the championship round in 2001, only after dispatching the Pacers bully that stood in their way.

During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, the 76ers posted a winning record and qualified for the playoffs for first time since 1991. Then the sixth seed, they upset the Orlando Magic in the first round, setting up a showdown with Indiana.

The Pacers powerhouse was on full display in the series, as they swept the fresh-faced Sixers in four games. Digging into the box scores, however, revealed an important footnote - the new kids on the block lost three of those four games by a combined 10 points.

So, although the series clearly didn’t have a great outcome, it did point toward future success, if the Sixers maintained their essence and improved their edge.

The rematch in the 2000 playoffs again came in the second round. The Pacers had secured the East’s best record and swaggered their way to a Game 1 triumph. Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose each scored 40 points in Indiana’s 108-91 win. Game 2 and Game 3 were closer, but still went Indy’s way.

After two years and seven playoff games, the Sixers had still failed to win a game versus the Pacers.

In Game 4, they finally got the upper hand, building a 79-61 lead and seemingly marching toward victory. That march was rudely interrupted by an altercation between Miller and Matt Geiger leading to their ejections. Instead of folding, the Pacers stormed back and even took the lead.

It appeared the Sixers were yet again destined to be swept.

The brooms were ultimately kept in the closet thanks to Tyrone Hill, who hauled in an offensive rebound and scored on a putback bucket with just under a minute left in the game. Hill’s hustle points gave the Sixers a 91-90 lead.

Winning by a final score of 92-90, the Sixers finally got a victory against their Hoosier-state nemesis. Hill, who snared 15 rebounds total, emphasized the outsized importance of the win:

“We wanted to come out and give a lot of effort. It was more pride and heart. Nobody wants to get swept. It was big emotion.”

With Reggie Miller and Geiger  suspended for Game 5, the Sixers blew the doors off Indiana’s saloon by a final score of 107-86. Miller and Geiger were back for Game 6, as the Pacers returned the favor, blitzing the Sixers, 106-90, to conclude the series.

After seven years of contention, Indiana would finally appear in the NBA Finals, losing in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. As for the Sixers, a seven-year climb to the Eastern Conference mountaintop was not in their plans - yet. Overthrowing the Pacers was top priority and it would come soon enough.

The 2001 76ers secured the Eastern Conference’s best record with 56 wins. Unfortunately, Theo Ratliff suffered a season-ending injury, which threatened to derail the team’s title hopes.

Luckily, the Sixers were able to trade Ratliff, along with Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sanchez to Atlanta for Dikembe Mutombo.

Losing Ratliff – the league’s leading shot-blocker and an All-Star – was tough, but Mutombo’s presence maintained the team’s defensive identity. At season’s end, he was declared the Defensive Player of the Year.

Indeed, the individual trophies kept rolling in for the Sixers. Iverson was named All-Star Game and regular season MVP, McKie took home Sixth Man of the Year, and Brown was awarded Coach of the Year honors.

As the Sixers racked up the accolades, the Pacers, despite coming close to a title in 2000, underwent a youth movement in 2001. The challenging adjustments dropped their record to 41 wins, and set up a first-round showdown with the top-seeded Sixers.

The Pacers found a late-season groove, as they ended the year on an 8-1 winning spurt. So, despite being the eighth seed, Indiana proved a dangerous foe one final time.

Seemingly played in molasses, the methodical Game 1 entered halftime with the Sixers holding a 52-36 lead. In the second half, however, the offense stalled and the Pacers rallied back.

The final minutes aren’t recommended for anyone with heart problems. Anxiety lurked everywhere, as neither team could pull away from the other.

The scarcity of buckets made Mount Mutombo an anchor of stability. He delivered 12 points, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

In the end, though, it was Miller Time. The Pacers shooting guard nailed a 3-pointer with just a few seconds left to give Indiana a 79-78 win.

Despite the gut punch, the Sixers did not wilt in Game 2. Iverson erupted for 45 points and 9 assists in the Sixers’ systematic 116-98 thrashing of Indiana.

Indiana wasn’t done just yet, though. In Game 3, up by as many as 14 points, the Sixers were taken off guard by the Pacers, which ripped off an 18-4 run in the second half. Fortunately, Indy’s momentum subsided before the final buzzer went off.

The Sixers couldn’t make a basket in the five final minutes of action, but 9 free throws held off the Pacers’ rally by a final score of 92-87.

Knowing that the Pacers could easily have been up 2-1 in the series, the Sixers were eager to finally drive a stake through Indiana’s heart, and did so on the road with an 88-85 win in Game 4. As the score indicates, it was no easy task.

The fourth quarter began with Indiana holding a 69-64 lead. This time, it was the Sixers that staged a rally.

Mutombo was again rock solid in this effort, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks to go alongside Iverson’s 33 points.

Mount Mutombo stood tallest in the final minute or so of the game, when he swatted two Indiana shots and on the offensive end dropped a hook shot to give the Sixers an 86-85 lead.

Reggie Miller nearly shook the Sixers again, but he missed a game-winning 3-point attempt with six seconds left. Rebounding the ball, McKie was fouled, then sealed the game by converting two free throws.

For the 76ers, on their way to the Finals, more dramatics were to come in the playoffs, with two close Game 7s versus the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks.

But getting the Pacers monkey off the back was an exhausting and exciting feeling for the whole team.

“Just getting by this team is something special to me because these guys always haunted me and made it tough for me to sleep,” Iverson said after the win.

Team president Pat Croce put it even more simply, “This is our third year here… never had a happy ending. Our first happy ending in Indiana.”