RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Philadelphia 76ers didn't need Allen
Iverson or any of their other starters Tuesday night.
Not with Jumaine Jones around.
| | Indiana guard Travis Best, right, attempts to block the drive of Philadelphia's Eric Snow. |
Jones scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, both
career-highs, and led the 76ers back from a 15-point deficit to a
111-105 victory at Indiana.
"Any time we're on the court, we want to win a game and play
hard," Jones said. "We didn't look at it like this was a game we
didn't care about. Us young guys wanted to go out and play hard and
get the victory."
Jones led the way.
He played 39 minutes, made seven of 15 field goals, grabbed four
offensive rebounds, hit the shot that forced overtime and then made
the plays in overtime that turned the game.
And he managed all that against an opponent that was playing its
best basketball of the season.
The victory snapped the Pacers' season-long seven-game winning
streak and a 10-game home winning streak. It also gave Philadelphia
a 3-0 series sweep as the two teams prepare for their first-round
playoff series.
But with the game having no bearing on the playoffs, both teams
played it safe.
Philadelphia put Iverson on the injured list earlier Tuesday and
used its remaining four starters sparingly in the second half.
George Lynch was the only Philadelphia starter to play in the
fourth quarter or overtime, and he played just four minutes.
"I said I was going to try and play the younger kids a little
bit, and that's what they did," coach Larry Brown said. "That was
phenomenal to see what they did."
The Pacers did much the same.
Only Al Harrington played in the final quarter or overtime, and
after guard Travis Best went out with a lower back strain, Indiana
coach Isiah Thomas decided the best thing for his team was to avoid
injuries at any cost.
Harrington led the Pacers with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
"We didn't want to get anyone else banged up," Thomas said.
"So basically, we went with all younger guys to try and win it."
That didn't work.
The Pacers, who had extended an 11-point halftime lead to 62-47
with 8:34 remaining, suddenly found themselves struggling to
protect the lead.
Philadelphia closed to 75-72 after three quarters and tied the
score at 80 with 8:56 left in regulation. But Indiana responded
with a 15-6 run before the 76ers, led by Jones, charged back again.
Philadelphia used a 13-4 spurt to forge a tie at 99 on Jones'
14-footer with 8.1 seconds left.
"He was phenomenal," Brown said. "He made a big shot to tie
the game. He made big plays the whole game. I told the guys at
halftime he was the only guy going after balls. He was like a pogo
stick, he was going after every ball."
After Todd MacCulloch blocked Tyus Edney's potential game-winner
just before the buzzer, Jones went back to work.
With the score tied at 101 in overtime, Jones hit a 3-pointer,
then grabbed a defensive rebound that led to a breakaway dunk by
MacCulloch to make it 106-101 and put the 76ers in control.
"It most definitely was self-satisfying," said Jones, who had
his first double-double in the NBA. "I think I've come a long,
long way since I got here both defensively and offensively."
Game notes Philadelphia put six players in double figures, including
three players off the bench -- Jones, Kevin Ollie with 13 and
MacCulloch with 10. ... The 76ers' bench outscored Indiana's 61-47.
... With 1,093 games played for Indiana, Reggie Miller has tied Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar for seventh on the list of most games played with one
team.
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NBA Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 94 Detroit 92
Atlanta 122 Washington 119
Miami 91 Milwaukee 89
Chicago 100 New Jersey 94
Philadelphia 111 Indiana 105
Houston 114 Minnesota 87
Utah 97 LA Clippers 92
San Antonio 99 Portland 93
LA Lakers 108 Denver 91
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