Section A · Page 11
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, May 10; 1999
NBA Plavoffs
76ers rally to beat Magic
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — When Allen Iverson wasn't the answer, Matt Geiger was.
Iverson, the smallest player in NBA history to win a scoring title, had 30 points in his playoff debut, while Geiger led a fourth-quarter surge that carried Philadelphia to a
surged that carried Philadelphia to a 100-gear floor.
104-90 victory against the Orlando Magic in the opening game of their best-of-five series yesterday.
Hardly looking like a team in the playoffs for the first time in eight years, the 76ers used an 11-0 run to pull away for good. Geiger had 12 of his 23 points in the last period and finished with 10 rebounds.
Iverson struggled after scoring 18 points in the opening half, missing 10 of his first 13 shots in the second half. But he held his composure and provided the basket that gave Philadelphia the lead for good mid-nightwork the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter.
Penny Hardaway led Orlando with 19 points, but only scored three in the second half. Nick Anderson added 18 and rookie
George Lynch had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who won two of the three regular-season meetings against Orlando, which had the best home record in the Eastern Conference this year at 21-4.
Anderson added 18 and rookie Michael Doleac had 11.
The Magic shot only 34 percent from the field in the first two quarters, yet trailed just 50-47 at the half because they outscored the 76ers 23-6 from the foul line while attempting 31 free throws compared to Philadelphia's 13.
In three regular-season games against Orlando, Iverson averaged nearly 23 points a game but wasn't nearly as explosive as he was against the rest of the league.
The Magic held him to 16 points in one game and 14 in another, although cold shooting probably was as much of a factor as Orlando's defense.
The 76ers star set the tone early with 11 first-quarter points and two assists, including a lob to Larry Hughes that the Philadelphia rookie caught on the baseline for a dunk.
The Magic stayed close by living on the foul line, particularly in the last six minutes of the second quarter when they trimmed four points off Philadelphia's lead despite going scoreless from the field.
Anderson's three-point shot tied the game early in the third quarter, and the Magic went ahead briefly before the 76ers settled down to lead 70-69 going into the final period.
■ Notes: Once one of the toughest places in the NBA to get a ticket, Orlando Arena was not sold out for Sunday's game. Attendance was announced as 15,267 — 1,981 shy of capacity. About 3,000 tickets were available 90 minutes before tipoff. Although the 76ers are in the playoffs for the first time since 1991, eight of the 15 players the team had postseason experience before Sunday. Rick Mahorn, who's in his 16th season, led the way with 101 games. The other seven — Tyrone Hill, Eric Snow, Harvey Grant, Aaron McKie, George Lynch, Matt Geiger and Theo Rattliff — had a combined 94 games of playoff experience. Iverson won the scoring title despite shooting just .412 from the field, the lowest mark by a scoring champion since George Mikan shot 40.7 percent during the 1949-50 season.
The Associated Press
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Two clutch defensive plays, a block by Shaquille O'Neal and a pounce by Derek Fisher, made the Los Angeles Lakers winners yesterday.
O'Neal blocked Cuttino Mobley's layup attempt at the final buzzer, and Fisher had 20 points, six assists, three steals and one crucial recovery of a loose ball as the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 101-100 in their playoff series opener.
Hakeem Olajuweng's three-point play with 1:03 remaining gave the Rockets a 100-98 lead, and then O'Neal cut the advantage in half by making a foul shot with 28.4 seconds left.
The Rockets were running the shot clock down when Scottie Pippen lost his footing and control of the ball while being guarded by Kobe Bryant. Fisher came racing in, pounced on the ball and called timeout with 7.6 seconds to play.
Bryant then was fouled by Sam Mack as he drove toward the basket and made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left and gave the Lakers a 101-100 lead
The Rockets had one final try, but came up empty when the rookie Mobley's driving layup was swatted
out of bounds by O'Neal as time ran out.
Glen Rice led the Lakers with 29 points. O'Neal scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Bryant finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Barkley scored 12 of his 25 points in the final period and had 10 rebounds. Oliauwon, hammered by
problems, had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Pippen had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Mack scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter as the Rockets battled back from a 77-70 deficit.
But in the end, it wasn't enough.
Two foul shots by Bryant with 1.31 to go made it 97-96, and Fisher made two more free throws 14 seconds later after stealing the ball from Moblev.
The Rockets trimmed an 11-point halftime lead to two late in the third quarter before Rice scored five points as the Lakers went on a 7-2 run to finish the quarter with a seven-point lead.
Game 2 in the first-round best-of-five series is tomorrow night at the Forum; the third game is Thursday night at Houston.
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan and the No. 1 seeded San Antonio Spurs wouldn't let the Minnesota Timberwolves hang around for a full 48 minutes.
Duncan dominated for the Spurs once again, scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and leading San Antonio past the Minnesota Timberwolves 99-86 in game one of their playoff series yesterday.
Win gives Spurs series lead
The Associated Press
The Timberwolves kept the conte close until the fourth quarter, when San Antonio opened a comfortable double-digit lead with the Alamodome crowd shouting "M-V-P, M-V-P" for Duncan.
David Robinson had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Avery Johnson added 21 points and had 10 assists and Sean Elliott scored 14 points.
Game two in the best-of-five series is tomorrow night.
After trailing 50-49 at halftime, the Timberwolves took the lead three times in the first three minutes of the third period, but San Antonio moved back in front each time.
A jumper by Johnson sparked a 9-2 rally that gave San Antonio a 10-point advantage with just under four minutes left in the period. Still, Minnesota edged back in and trailed only 73-66 entering the fourth.
Jaren Jackson's layup followed by a Duncan dunk moved San Antonio up 85-70 with 8:39 remaining. Six unanswered points by Minnesota made it 85-76
with 7:03 remaining. Then Robinson's two free throws and another basket by Duncan put the Spurs ahead 89-78 and the game out of reach with 5:56 remaining.
Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 21 points and eight rebounds. Sam Mitchell added 19 points and Terrell Brandon had 16 points and 11 assists.
The game was close throughout the first half, with the lead appearing before halftime. The team
was tied 26-26 after the first quarter and
Antonio Antonio 50 at halftime.
The Spurs, 37-13 in the regular season, are the No.1 seed in the West. The
San Antonio led 50-49 at halftime. Garnett scored 15 of his points in the first half. Duncan and Robinson were held to just 11 shots combined from the field. The Spurs, 37-13 in the regular sea-
eighth-seeded Timberwolves were 25-25 in the regular season.
San Antonio, after starting 6-8 in February, went 31-5 during the next two months to overtake Utah and capture the Midwest Division title and homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.
Notes: Malik Sealy of Minnesota was ejected with 504 left in the game after getting two technical fouls for arguing a call. ... The Timberwolves had 19 turnovers, compared with 11 for the Spurs. ... San Antonio and Minnesota split their regular season series 2-2, with each team winning at home. ... The Spurs finished the regular season with a 13-game home winning streak, while the Timberwolves lost 10 straight on the road.
Bench scoring helps Indiana outpace Bucks
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's mastery of the Milwaukee Bucks continued Sunday as reserve Jalen Rose scored a playoff career-high 24 points, including 17 in the second quarter, and the Pacers recorded a 110-88 victory in the opening game of their best-of-5 series.
Indiana held off a third quarter surge by Milwaukee, which reduced a 14-point halftime deficit to six late in the quarter. The Pacers responded by taking a 20-point lead several times in the fourth quarter.
Indiana did most of the damage in the final quarter with its reserves on the court. Indiana's reserves outscored Milwaukee's bench 55-19.
action in the second half, had 16 points. Davis Dale also had 16 points and 15 rebounds, which Chris Mullin scored 15 as Indiana defeated the Bucks for the eight consecutive time.
The Pacers took the lead for good
Reggie Miller, who saw limited
the racers took
with a 12-2 run
that began with
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ahead 22-19 and
3:24 left in the
first period.
The Bucks, in the playoffs for
the first time since 1991, had taken a 9-2 lead before Indiana began asserting its playoff experience.
Two free throws by Miller with 3:24 left in the opening period began the run as the Bucks were
going 3 1/2 minutes without scoring. Miller, Indiana's career-leader in playoff scoring, had 10 in the opening period, which ended with the Pacers leading 27-24.
Rose scored 17 points in the second period, sparking the Pacers to a 60-46 lead at halftime. Rose had Indiana's final eight points in the last 54 seconds of the half, hitting a 3-pointer, a lavup and a three-point play.
Ray Allen, who had struggled as Indiana swept the Bucks in three meetings during the regular season, led the Bucks with 22 points.
Indiana dominated the boards 26-14 in the first half.
Game 2 is tomorrow night at Market Square Arena before the series shifts to Milwaukee for the third game Thursday
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