The game was closer than it should have been. The Sixers were appallingly bad from the free-throw stripe, shooting 54.5% and missing 15. Had they been making them, they would have applied even more pressure on the Nuggets.
I actually thought Denver could have taken this game down the stretch. I suppose there's no such thing as a good enough half-court offense, unless you can score every time down, it's just not good enough! I shouldn't complain- the Sixers shot 60.3% from the floor, well above their average, while the Nuggets only managed 47.8% -pretty average for the NBA.
But each team hung in there, making play after play. It is a shame it wasn't on National TV; it was one of the most exciting and closely contested games all year.
There was a lot of emotion going on beneath the surface. AI wanted to play his best. Andre Miller wanted to show Denver that they were dumb to trade HIM! Iverson outscored him, 32pts on 13-24, 8 assists, 3 steals. Miller outassisted AI, 28pts on 13-21, 12 assists, 1 steal. One of the biggest plays of the game came with AI defending Miller, who had him in the post. Andre made a shot fake, and AI jumped into the air and fell into Miller, who completed the shot and made the free-throw. It was nullified when AI went down to the other end and shot a 3ptr.
A great game and a great outcome for the Sixers. 4 straight wins, finally a .500 ballclub. Unfortunately, both Toronto and Washington won, so the Sixers didn't make up any ground, but at least they didn't loose any. Toronto has been awful lately, but they got a freebie from the Miami Heat.
