NBA Greatest Duels: Allen Iverson vs Latrell Sprewell (2001)

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• published: 01 Jan 2015
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The New York Knicks got their first look at Dikembe Mutombo in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform. In the end, they saw enough of Allen Iverson. Without center Marcus Camby to provide his shot-blocking prowess, the Knicks had no second line of defense for Philadelphia's electrifying guard and suffered an 89-82 loss to the 76ers. The absence of Camby became pronounced in the final minutes after Latrell Sprewell scored eight straight points to pull the Knicks within 79-77. But Iverson would not let his team fall apart. He hit a 19-foot jumper over Sprewell from the left sideline with 2:57 left. On New York's next two possessions, the intimidation factor of the 7-foot-2 Mutombo caused Kurt Thomas to go too strong off the backboard on a running layup and Sprewell had a layup attempt partially blocked by George Lynch. "They did a good job of coming on the weak side to help on the one drive that I had," Sprewell said. "Lynch got a piece of it. And the one Kurt (Thomas) had, Dikembe's presence was felt on that play. Those were two baskets we could have used down the stretch." Philadelphia's Aaron McKie drove to the basket and converted a layup over Thomas to increase the lead to 83-77 with 2:03 remaining. Allan Houston, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with a thigh bruise, hit a jumper while he was fouled by Eric Snow and made the free throw to complete the three-point play, pulling the Knicks within 83-80 with 1:41 left. After a Philadelphia turnover, the Knicks had a chance to tie it but a 3-point attempt by Sprewell rimmed out. Iverson then isolated on Sprewell at the top of the key, blew right by him and hit a floater in the lane over Glen Rice -- a far cry from a shot-blocking presence like Camby -- with 49 seconds remaining. "The little kid (Iverson) made two big shots and when they got it within two we made defensive stops," said Sixers coach Larry Brown. "We played hard enough to win, we just didn't play well enough to win," said Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. "When the game got tight, Iverson made shots." Snow and Kevin Ollie each hit a pair of free throws in the final 26 seconds for Philadelphia (55-25), which has already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. "The guys understand that if I'm going well, I'm going to have the ball in my hand," Iverson said. "If any team doubles me or tries to take something away from me, my teammates are going to make shots. If we do that, we'll be alright going into the playoffs." The San Antonio Spurs have earned homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Sixers are still competing with teams like Sacramento (54-25) and the Los Angeles Lakers (54-26) for the homecourt in a possible NBA Finals matchup. The Knicks squandered an opportunity to tie Miami for the seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat, which lost at home to Orlando, 90-73 on Sunday, lead the Knicks by one game with two games left in the regular season. If the Knicks go into the playoffs as the fourth seed, they would play the Sixers in the second round if both teams advance. "If we play with that type of effort and energy, it doesn't matter who we play," Sprewell said. "If we do the right things on the floor, it's about us and not who we're playing." Iverson finished with 27 points. Mutombo was the major reason why the Sixers outrebounded the Knicks, 49-33, grabbing 16 boards. "I am encouraged when we win with defense and rebounding," Brown said. "That is the only way this team is going to survive." Camby, New York's 6-11 center, suffered a hip contusion in New York's loss at Indiana last Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for a week. Sprewell scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for New York. Houston had 15 points, but missed 11-of-16 shots. Rice was just 4-of-11 from the field. "We had a lot of wide-open shots, but the ball wasn't going in," Rice said. "You're going to have games like that." The Knicks raced to a 16-6 lead as the Sixers missed 11 of their first 12 shots. But Iverson hit a pair of jumpers and two layups and McKie added five points as the Sixers responded with a 13-4 run to pull within 20-19. Rice ended the quarter with a layup for New York