PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The only title Jerry Stackhouse has
been chasing since leaving Philadelphia is the scoring title.
Stackhouse scored 34 points but former teammate Allen Iverson
poured in 44 as the league-leading Philadelphia 76ers continued
their ascension at the Detroit Pistons' expense, cruising to a
105-89 rout.
After completing a franchise-record 12-game road winning streak
with an 85-84 overtime triumph at Houston on Wednesday, the
Sixers had little trouble carrying their success back to the
First Union Center.
Iverson and Stackhouse each had 13 points in the first quarter,
when Philadelphia took the lead for good, 25-21. Armed with a
better supporting cast, Iverson dictated the pace thereafter,
scoring 10 points in the second period as Philadelphia opened a
58-41 halftime lead.
"We're 33-10, 10, but next day we could be 33-11, then (33-12)
and so on," Iverson said. "We don't want that. We're going to
play every game like it's our last. We want to take it one game
at a time so that something special will happen at the end of
the season."
Stackhouse was traded to Detroit on December 18, 1997 for guard
Aaron McKie and center Theo Ratliff -- both of whom have played
significant roles in Philadelphia's rise to the top of the NBA
standings.
Stackhouse entered the contest with a league-leading 29.9-point
scoring average, but the Pistons have lost 10 of their last 11
and are 12 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the Central
Division.
He helped Detroit get within four points late in the third
quarter, but Iverson closed the period by drilling an 18-footer
and made four free throws before feeding Todd MacCulloch for a
layup that extended the advantage to 81-70 with 8:34 to play.
"The shots just didn't fall for us," Stackhouse said. "From
there, they made their shots and got it back up to 10. We were
never able to recover from that. We're hoping at some point we
can catch a break. If we put forth the same effort in the first
half that we had in the second half, it might have been a
different game."
Iverson has scored at least 30 points in seven of his last nine
games and has cracked 40 on eight occasions. Philadelphia is
15-2 since dropping back-to-back games on December 20-22 and
improved to 14-6 at home. The Sixers own the NBA's best road
mark at 19-4.
"We have come out and had letdowns at home based on the way
we've played on the road," Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said.
"For the most part, everybody realizes that we have to play the
right way in order to be successful and win. We're fortunate, we
are truly a team."
Philadelphia has taken seven of the last nine meetings in the
series.
George Lynch had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Ratliff and McKie
combined for 25 points as the Sixers moved seven games ahead of
second-place New York in the Atlantic Division. At 33-10,
Philadelphia is two games ahead of Western Conference-leading
Portland for the NBA's best overall mark.
Iverson made 14-of-29 shots, 15-of-16 free throws and picked up
five steals in 47 spectacular minutes. Stackhouse hit 12-of-32
shots and was 8-of-12 at the line. He grabbed seven rebounds to
go with five assists but also committed half of the Pistons' 12
turnovers.
Joe Smith had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Chucky Atkins scored
11 points for Detroit, which shot 38 percent (32-of-85) and lost
the battle on the boards, 49-42.
"It's hard to beat Philly when you shoot 37 percent," Detroit
coach George Irvine said. "We gave them so many easy baskets in
the first half and they manhandled us on the boards. When you
shoot like we did tonight, I don't think you're gonna beat
Philadelphia very often."
The Sixers shot 49 percent (41-of-84) and also committed 12
turnovers.
Iverson hit two free throws, a 15-footer, a 17-footer and a
layup that closed the first-half scoring, giving Philadelphia a
58-41 cushion.
Stackhouse began shooting the Pistons back into contention early
in the third quarter, hitting a 20-footer and following with a
19-footer that shaved the deficit to 60-52 with 8:49 left in the
period.
Smith converted a three-point play and added two free throws as
Detroit closed to 71-67 with 22 seconds left in the third
quarter. But Iverson knocked down an 18-footer on the ensuing
trip and the Sixers pulled away in the final period.
Негізгі бет Спорт Allen Iverson 44pts vs Jerry Stackhouse Pistons 00/01 NBA
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