Young finished the night with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists while Iverson added 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists.
But the struggling Sixers (6–18) managed to get the rest of the team involved too, and it was that total team effort that enabled the team to not completely lose the 29-point lead they had built by the end of the third quarter. All five of the Sixers’ starters and two bench men hit double-digit scoring by the end of the game.
Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, and Willie Green stepped it up in the fourth quarter to fend off relentless Warriors (7–17) 33-point scoring surge led by forward Corey Maggette. Maggette had nine points in the fourth and 24 for the night.
“I was just trying to get this gorilla off our back,” Iverson said to reporters after the game.
“We felt like once we did get a win, it was going to be extremely hard, one of the hardest games to win.
“[But] it was totally opposite,” Iverson said in reference to the team’s large third quarter lead.
The Second Answer?
When the Philadelphia 76ers took Iverson as the No. 1 draft pick in 1996, they brought on a new style of fast-paced, scrappy basketball that, together with new leadership, helped pull the team from the trenches of the previous decade. That’s when the Iverson nickname “The Answer” was born.
The Iverson-led Sixers came closest to glory in 2001 with a trip to the NBA finals, but it’s been downhill for the team ever since, with Iverson leaving in 2006.
Now back to his NBA roots and beloved fans, Iverson again is playing a leading role for the team and has been upping his contribution with each of the four games he has played since signing a one-year contract on Dec. 2.
In his first game with the Sixers against the Denver Nuggets last Monday, A.I. started and saw over 37 minutes of playing time, contributing 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. It was a big surprise for an athlete who hadn’t played competitive ball in over a month.
Iverson matched the feat on Wednesday against another former team, the Detroit Pistons, with 11 points in over 33 minutes of playing time.
He then had an explosive performance in Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets, with 20 points in 33 minutes of playing time, second only to Sixers guard Andre Iguodala with 24 points. And now Iverson matched Friday’s level in Monday night’s game—and this time the game ended in a “W” for Philly.
There’s no doubt Iguodala, nicknamed A.I. 2 after Iverson himself, is the leader of the Sixers pack, for now. But his lackluster performance on Monday night, that saw only four points at the half and 14 for the night, could be the beginning of a transfer to Iverson in Sixers leadership.
It will be interesting to see how the power dynamic between A.I. and A.I. 2 works out if Iverson continues his improving performance. Hopefully the tear-jerking humility he demonstrated in his Dec. 3 press conference will stick.
Right now, “The Answer” can rest assured that he played no small part—and perhaps the leading role—in pulling the Sixers out of the trenches once again.
The 76ers face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Wednesday.
Orlando Overcomes
The Orlando Magic (18–6) ended their two-game losing streak with a hard-fought win over the Indiana Pacers (8–14) 106–98 on Monday night in Orlando.
Star guard Vince Carter led the team in scoring with 28 points followed by Dwight “Superman” Howard with 21 points. Howard owned the boards with 23 rebounds for the night.
After a tough first quarter that had the Pacers up by 13 points, Howard led the Orlando fight-back in the second that ended the half with the Southeast Conference leaders only down by one.
J.J. Redick fought alongside Carter and Howard with 10 points to help keep the team in striking range of the Pacers in the third quarter. The Pacers then went dry in the fourth quarter being outscored by 10 points.
Forward Mike Dunleavy led the Pacers with 26 points for the night.
