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Wednesday, Jan. 24 8:30pm ET
Iverson, Sixers rally for overtime victory

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

HOUSTON (AP) -- Even when he's not shooting his best, it's hard to beat Allen Iverson.

Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon had two points and seven rebounds in his return for the Rockets.
Iverson overcame a cold-shooting first half and scored 32 points as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied for a 85-84 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night for their franchise-record 12th straight road win.

Iverson shot only 3-for-13 from the field in the first half and had only a 32 percent shooting percentage for the game, but he had nine big points in the third quarter to keep the Rockets from getting too far ahead. He also hit 12 of his 15 free throws.

"Yeah, it was an ugly win, but it was a win," Iverson said. "I'll take a win any way we can get it."

George Lynch's basket gave the 76ers a 72-70 lead to start the overtime and they never trailed, improving their league-best road record to 19-4.

Steve Francis led the Rockets with 24 points and Cuttino Mobley had 22, including a 3-point basket at the final buzzer.

"You're going to have games like that," Aaron McKie said. "When you shoot the ball like that, you've still got to find a way to win. I thought we got some key stops in the second half that allowed us to win the game."

Houston led 59-51 at the start of the fourth quarter and the Rockets still held a 65-57 advantage with 6:42 to go before the Sixers made an 11-1 charge for a 68-66 lead with 1:50 to play.

From there, Mobley put back a miss by Francis for a 68-68 tie and Theo Ratliff's short jumper made it 70-68. Francis then hit a 10-foot jumper with 23 seconds left, forcing the overtime.

"We're giving it all we have," Maurice Taylor said. "We scraped like hell on defense and did a good job, but offensively we just didn't have it. We didn't have it all night. Regardless of what the record is, we got the loss. It's an 'L.' "

Neither team could shoot in the first half. Philadelphia shot 27 percent and the Rockets 24 percent from the field.

"We defended like crazy, especially in the fourth quarter," 76ers coach Larry Brown said. "We missed some key free throws but we found ways to make stops at their end. I thought we defended about as well as we could, especially down the stretch.

"A lot of guys stepped up."

The 76ers managed a 30-18 lead with 7:56 left in the first half before the Rockets rallied to tie the score 32-32 at the half with a 14-2 run.

Houston's rally included a 51-foot shot by Francis that pulled the Rockets to 32-30.

"Losses are always tough to swallow but we have played well against the best teams," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "If we keep a good attitude and stay out of denial these games will start to go our way."

Game notes
The Rockets have won nine of the last 11 games with the 76ers in Houston. ... The Rockets had scored 100 or more points in their previous five games. ... The 76ers completed their ninth back-to-back sweep. Five of the 76ers' 10 losses have occurred in back-to-back games. ... The Rockets activated Hakeem Olajuwon prior to the game. He had been on the injured list since Jan. 9 recovering from a cyst on his right knee. Olajuwon played 18 minutes with two points and seven rebounds.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Philadelphia Clubhouse

Houston Clubhouse

Olajuwon, owner Alexander have 'very productive' meeting


RECAPS
Cleveland 94
Chicago 86

Phoenix 106
Detroit 73

Miami 103
Toronto 83

Charlotte 81
New York 67

Philadelphia 85
Houston 84

Golden State 109
New Jersey 87

Seattle 114
LA Clippers 110

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site

Larry Brown Official Site


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