The one-on-one play between Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson was what made this game so great. Between the two, 81 points were scored. And even though Anthony won the battle of the points, it was Iverson who would eventually win the game. Denver came into the game undersized with Kenyon Martin out, and Marcus Camby left the game with an injury only 6 minutes in. Eduardo Najera filled in the gap with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Earl Watson, who got playing time because Boykins would give up too much size to Iverson, had 15 points off the bench. Both Anthony and Webber scored the first 8 points of the game for their respected teams. Webber finished the first half with 22, mostly all on outside jumpers. After the half, the Nuggets did a much better job trapping him and forcing him to put in on the floor. He still finished with 32. Coming into the 3rd, the short-manned Nuggets needed to ride on a Carmelo Anthony performance to get a win. They didn't win, but Melo certainly did his job. Scoring 19 in the quarter, Anthony finished with a career-high 45 points and was Denver's only real source of offense. The size differential really showed itself in the 4th. The Nuggets finished the game with Boykins, Miller, and Watson all on the floor and had SG Carmelo Anthony guarding C Samuel Dalembert. They were able to get away with it since Dalembert eventually fouled out and Webber was playing Center. Anthony really carried them down the stretch but was lethargic in the final minutes when he picked up his 5th foul. Webber led the Sixers in scoring for most of the game. Iverson had 14 in the first half, but was mainly a contributor. It was in the second half that he really took over, scoring 22 in the half and finishing with 36. The biggest drawback of Denver going so small was that Iverson was able to get off any shot he wanted. In the final seconds, Iverson drilled an outside shot with just 1 left on the shot clock to give the 76ers a 108-106 win. The loss shouldn't be that concerning for Denver, who played the game without Camby or Martin. However, Camby is injury prone; not much could cause him to miss an entire season. For Philadelphia, chemistry isn't an issue when they wind up with a win. In their last game, John Salmons took several shots down the stretch, which didn't sit well with Allen Iverson. After seeing today's results we can't blame him for complaining. Kyle Korver contributed with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Andre Miller had 15 for Denver. |
