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Wednesday, Jan. 3 7:00pm ET
Aaron is McKie to Sixers' victory

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Aaron McKie had better be careful or he might lose his job as sixth man.

Aaron McKie
McKie

McKie had his second straight triple-double and Allen Iverson scored 21 points as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a four-game home losing streak Wednesday night with a 98-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

"It feels great," said McKie, starting in place of injured point guard Eric Snow. "I've come so close on several occasions. But winning games is more important than anything."

The Sixers, coming off an impressive three-game road sweep that included victories at Utah and Sacramento, won their fourth straight and improved to 22-8 -- the NBA's best record.

Theo Ratliff had 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks, Tyrone Hill added eight points and 11 rebounds and George Lynch had 12 points and eight rebounds for Philadelphia, which hadn't won at the First Union Center since beating Charlotte 95-74 on Dec. 1.

"To get two triple-doubles in a row, that shows you what kind of team this is," said Ratliff, who was three blocked shots short of one. "I see him do this all the time."

McKie had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He realizes he'll be coming off the bench once Snow returns from a fractured right ankle in about six weeks.

"I love my role," McKie said.

Jason Terry scored 17 points and Roshown McLeod, Matt Maloney and Dion Glover each had 10 for Atlanta, which had won five of its previous seven.

Brevin Knight, acquired in a three-for-one deal from Cleveland on Tuesday, missed his first five shots and had six points and seven assists.

"We stood around in the beginning and watched them," Hawks coach Lon Kruger said. "They took the fight to us."

McKie, who had his first career triple-double in a 107-104 overtime victory against the Kings last Saturday, is the first member of the Sixers known to have done it in back-to-back games. The stat was not kept prior to 1979.

Phoenix Suns guard Jason Kidd was the last player to record the feat in consecutive games, doing so against Portland and Sacramento in December 1999.

"When you consider he's a role player and non-starter, to go back-to-back is pretty neat," Sixers coach Larry Brown said.

The Sixers hit their first eight shots, had two 7-0 runs in the first quarter and led the entire game. Toni Kukoc's 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in the second quarter capped an 18-5 run, giving Philadelphia a 60-33 halftime lead.

Atlanta didn't get any closer than 20 until midway through the fourth quarter. The Hawks cut it to 85-70 following a 15-2 run, but didn't get any closer.

Iverson, playing his first game at home since dislocating his right shoulder in a 91-71 loss to the New York Knicks on Dec. 22, shot 7-for-18 and had eight assists.

Iverson, expected to miss 1-to-3 weeks with the shoulder injury, returned after sitting out one game -- a 97-91 victory over the Jazz on Dec. 26.

Game notes
Charles Barkley is the only other player to record multiple triple-doubles in one season for the Sixers. ... Sixers center Matt Geiger missed his 21st game of the season. He'll have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Thursday and should miss 4-to-6 weeks. ... Sixers president Pat Croce sat in the stands in the first half, and celebrated his team's 27-point halftime lead by buying ice cream for all the fans sitting in his section. ... Philadelphia missed 11 straight shots to open the fourth quarter. ... Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo had four points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

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RECAPS
New York 100
Boston 91

Philadelphia 98
Atlanta 80

Detroit 107
Dallas 104

Milwaukee 88
Cleveland 83

Phoenix 90
LA Clippers 85

Portland 102
Indiana 86

Vancouver 99
Charlotte 89

Denver 111
Golden State 100

LA Lakers 82
Utah 71

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Theo Ratliff blocks the shot and Allen Iverson finishes with a reverse for a Sixers' score.
avi: 540 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

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