Basketball

The Morning Call

Sixers eager to bid adieu to Raptors ** Philly can close out best-of-seven series with a win in Game 6 tonight in Toronto. Mutombo expects to play with injured finger.

It’s hammer time for the Philadelphia 76ers. “When you have a chance to put a team out, you want to put them out,” said Sixers guard Eric Snow following practice Thursday at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Snow and his teammates were preparing to board a plane for…

May 18, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson, Sixers run Game 5 clinic ** The NBA MVP celebrates his award with a 52-point outburst, as the Sixers dismantle Toronto and take a 3-2 lead.

Allen Iverson lit the fire early and kept fueling the drive, pumping up the fans with dazzling moves, rainbow jumpers, fadeaways and blazing moves into the land of giants. Forward Tyrone Hill, who had been somewhat missing in action, also stepped up. So did a lot of other Sixers…

May 17, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson, Sixers run Game 5 clinic ** The NBA MVP celebrates his award with a 52-point outburst, as the Sixers dimantle Toronto and take a 3-2 lead.

The Sixers had to know it was going to be their night to run rampant over the Toronto Raptors when Tyrone Hill scored back-to-back transition baskets early in the second quarter. Allen Iverson was already scoring at will and talking mad trash to Raptors guard Chris Childs.…

May 17, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Sixers tell Geiger he shouldn’t bother ** Coach Larry Brown appears to run out of patience with the reluctant center.

The Sixers’ problem child is no longer that big of a worry. Coach Larry Brown and general manager Billy King saw to it by deciding to sideline aching and always complaining backup center Matt Geiger indefinitely. Geiger had been limited to just four minutes in the Eastern…

May 17, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson wins MVP award his way ** Outpointing Duncan and Shaq, he becomes the league’s shortest-ever MVP.

Allen Iverson was far from himself as he stood at the podium at the Adams Mark Hotel Tuesday afternoon, discussing the trials he had to overcome en route to winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award by a landslide. “He was nervous up there,” said Gene Lett, a good friend of…

May 16, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson wins MVP award his way ** Toronto’s Davis might be hurtin’ with injured arm.

The Sixers might not see the same Antonio Davis tonight. The Toronto Raptors power forward, who has given the Sixers fits in the first four games, has a strained muscle in his left arm and may not play as effectively in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference best-of-seven series…

May 16, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

With Lynch out, Sixers turn to Geiger ** Thrust into the spotlight, Geiger is torn between team’s present, his own future.

He had a large ice pack wrapped around his right knee, and a bewildered look as question after question flowed his way. Then, there was his voice — almost as soft as he has played in many games this season. But his coach, his teammates — and fans of the Sixers, too, probably —…

76ers

May 15, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

New crop of NBA superstars making their presence felt

No one could possibly be ready for the curtain to fall on the NBA Playoffs. The show has been too spectacular, from Allen Iverson and Vince Carter to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, to all the rest of the young guns who are today’s stars. You know the other names. They’re all…

May 13, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson can’t do too much more, but teammates can ** The rest of the 76ers must contribute if Philly hopes to beat Toronto.

It was again Game 2 of a Sixers postseason series that was the charm. Again it was because Allen Iverson was unstoppable. From 45 points in Game 2 of the previous round against the Indiana Pacers to 54 in Wednesday night’s 97-92 victory over the Toronto Raptors, Iverson has…

May 11, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Oakley gives his side of Hill debt story

The conversation started off with Toronto Raptors forward Charles Oakley talking about ways to guard the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal. It continued with Oakley talking about old news to everybody else, but still serious business to him. And that’s the money Sixers…

May 10, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Sixers tie the knot with Raptors ** Allen Iverson scores a team playoff-record 54 points to help Philadelphia hold off a determined Toronto squad. The series, now tied 1-1, moves to Toronto for Game 3, Friday.

Allen Iverson did not wait for the defense to come to him. He went at it and around it, torching the Toronto Raptors for a career playoff-high 54 points. He was everywhere, shooting and scoring, especially in the fourth quarter when he scored 19 consecutive points during one…

May 10, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

McKie’s clutch play earns NBA’s sixth-man award ** The poor kid from North Philly completes a remarkable journey. “He’s what our league should be about,’ says his coach.

His statistics do not measure up to the man who has gone from the troubled streets of North Philadelphia to the glamour lights of the NBA. Through it all, Sixers guard Aaron McKie has remained humble and thankful for the people in his life who’ve helped elevate him to the player…

Allen Temple

May 9, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Slow starts are plaguing Sixers ** In the playoffs, Philly has displayed a tendency not to get revved up until it’s too late.

There’s no reason to give up. Not yet, anyway. The Sixers are still alive, though heartbroken, after losing 96-93 to the Toronto Raptors Sunday night at the First Union Center. Now they have to find a way to get even as they head into Game 2 of the best-of-seven series,…

May 8, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Raptors steal Game 1 from Sixers ** Toronto takes away the homecourt advantage with its 96-93 victory over Philadelphia at the First Union Center.

Thousands of fans started waving white Sixers towels in a frenetic motion from the nose-bleed section down to courtside with a little under 7 minutes remaining, and the Sixers scrambling around the court with ballhawking defensive pressure that was designed to make the Toronto…

May 7, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

For Philly, a big edge in experience ** In Toronto, the Sixers face a second-round matchup with a less-tested foe.

Welcome to the second round of the NBA playoffs, Toronto Raptors. Want to know how to handle the boiling pressure? Just ask Allen Iverson or Larry Brown, the star player and head coach of the Sixers, who’ve failed to make it out of the Eastern Conference semifinals the last two…

May 6, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Un-rapt: Most Sixers nix viewing Game 5 ** McKie planned to scout, but others want no part of Friday’s New York-Toronto game.

One round completed, at least one more to play. Just who their next opponent would be was a mystery to the Sixers and everybody else early Friday, so following practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, coach Larry Brown and most of his players chose to enjoy…

May 5, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Sixers need to go for Indy’s jugular ** In two of three games, Philly has blown big leads against the Pacers.

Allen Iverson showed up in military fatigues for the elimination playoff game against the Indiana Pacers last year. That was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Philadelphia, and the Sixers lost 106-90. Tonight, Iverson and the Sixers stand a solid chance in Game 4 of…

May 2, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

As a complement to Iverson, McKie earns high praise ** Sixers sixth-man has played a primary role in turning this series around.

The echoes of bouncing balls and sneakers scraping against the hardwood floor stopped as players and coaches stood in silence, each focusing on the portion of the gymnasium floor where Sixers guard Aaron McKie had just fallen. Trainers rushed to his side, but as soon as they got…

May 1, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Executing in transition puts Sixers in command of Pacers

One week is all it took for the Philadelphia 76ers to gain command of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, doing so with what has made them great all season — executing in transition. Few teams can run with the Sixers. The Pacers are not one of…

Apr 29, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Patience is paying off for Philadelphia’s 2nd-year man, Jones ** His time on the bench and his hard work in practice have resulted in more playing time.

Free at last … free at last Sixers forward Jumaine Jones is free to just play, no longer looking to the bench to see if coach Larry Brown is trying to find space for him to occupy. The days of hardly playing appear to be over. He certainly waited a long time to become a factor,…

Apr 28, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson expects rough treatment ** He knows that Indiana fans will likely heckle him in Game 3 Saturday, but he’ll respond with his play.

Allen Iverson is headed back to Indianapolis for the first time since his much-publicized racial incident Jan. 28, and he says that he’s more concerned about helping the Sixers gain a one-game series edge than how the Indiana Pacers’ fans perceive him. Sitting with a toothpick…

Apr 27, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

The Sixers go racing back to Indianapolis ** Coming off a win in Game 2, and having already won twice in Indiana, Philly is anxious to play.

Tyrone Hill was so exhausted and frustrated following the Sixers’ one-point loss to the Indiana Pacers last Saturday that he went home, had a couple of cold beverages and went to bed. His mood was a lot different Tuesday night, following the Sixers’ 116-98 victory over the…

Apr 26, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson helps 76eres keep pace ** Miller has red-hot half, but Iverson one-ups him in must-win game.

Jumaine Jones had seen it so many times before, his teammate Allen Iverson,breathing life back into the Sixers with his words and with his play. “Allen came into the huddle and he was like “Yo, we gonna get this victory,’ and when he says that, we have to jump on his back,”…

Apr 25, 2001 · Andre D. Williams

The Morning Call

Iverson helps 76ers keep pace ** He outscores Miller, 43-41, propels Sixers to 1-1 tie in series.

Allen Iverson sat by the stereo in the Sixers locker room, bobbing his head to the music, singing a rap tune. All the noise around him, all the pressure heading into a must-win Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers, didn’t seem to matter. Iverson was loose, energetic — he was…

Apr 25, 2001 · Andre D. Williams