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Sixers get game together to beat Heat

Feb 28, 2002 7:25 AM EST

THE 76ERS' destiny is in their own hands. If they handle it with greater care than they handled last night's free throws, they still have a chance. In the light of their 82-72 victory over visiting Miami, they can shrug merrily at their 27-for-46 performance at the foul line. But Larry Brown pulled up a chair before the game and drove home the importance of not wallowing in the disappointment of Monday night's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers or the negativity that flourished in the aftermath.

"I talked to them a long time before the game, not about basketball,'' the coach said. "Billy [general manager Billy King] and I assembled this team; I would like to have had it happen a lot sooner, [but] I haven't lost confidence in those guys and their character.

"But we've got to truly be a team. That's the thing that's really important. We tried to show that tonight.''

This was a night when the Sixers' grit and determination allowed them to win in spite of themselves. They won for just the fourth time in the last 10 games, tying the Indiana Pacers for No. 6 in the NBA East playoff seedings. They did it with just two players - Allen Iverson (31 points) and Matt Harpring (18) - scoring in double figures.

They did it despite seeing Iverson hobble off with 1minute, 11seconds remaining after bruising his left quadriceps in a collision with the Heat's Eddie Jones.

"Basically, the playoffs have started,'' guard Eric Snow said. "There are five or six teams competing for three or four spots [in the East's eight-team postseason field]. If that's the situation, it's already started.

"Everybody knew we were down, upset. But we fought, we regrouped, put ourselves back in the top eight. Win a game, you're in; lose a game, you're out. If we win our games, everybody else can knock each other off. We have to take it game by game, practice by practice, stay focused."

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Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat

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Iverson's rip of 76ers contrary to Zo's style

Feb 27, 2002 3:17 PM EST

Allen Iverson and Alonzo Mourning may be Georgetown products, but they are completely different.

For that matter, Iverson is unlike any Miami Heat player, based on his public criticism of teammates after Philadelphia's home loss to Portland on Monday.

"We've got guys out there -- some of them don't know the plays. And that's at crucial parts of the game," Iverson said. "How are you not going to know the plays at a crucial part of the game? There's no excuse for that.

"You're getting paid to play basketball. If a guy is getting a check, he needs to be giving effort every night and earning that money."

That 76ers have lost six of their past nine and are one game under. 500 at 27-28.

It's just the kind of outburst Heat players have avoided all season, even when the team was 18 games under.500 and once holding the league's worst record.

Iverson's statements could motivate his teammates and prompt them to make a late-season surge. But in Miami, that kind of motivation was deemed unnecessary and harmful.

"I think they understand that doesn't go anywhere," Heat coach Pat Riley said of his players. "I think the leaders handled the situation pretty well. We were taking everyone in and handling it here on the court.

"If there were some disagreements, and there were -- there were some guys that were disgruntled -- it was always handled here. If there was that kind of issue where somebody thought that someone else is not getting it done, then it's always best to handle it in-house."

Iverson didn't identify any specific teammates, but within the team players probably were aware of whom Iverson was speaking. What kept Heat players from pointing fingers was that it would have taken too many fingers.

"We just knew that it wasn't just one person," center and Heat tri-captain Alonzo Mourning said. "It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Everybody was messing up. It was just a matter of we knew collectively we had to get it done."

Said guard Eddie Jones: "We knew that things were bad, but the sign of a team that's not together is a team that starts pointing. If we started pointing fingers saying this guy or that guy, we might as well close the season down."

And despite a 5-23 record, Heat players were not willing to give up on the season, in part because of their trust in Riley.

"We got a lot of faith in him because he's been there and none of us has been there," Mourning said. "Nobody in here has won anything but some division championships. I explained that to all the guys and let them know that, 'Hey, man, we have no choice but to listen to what he has to say, because none of us has been anywhere. He's been there, he knows what it takes to get there. Doing it our way isn't going to get it done.' "

Mourning, who knows Iverson fairly well, said this might be Iverson's way of firing up his teammates. But Mourning prefers a different style of leadership.

"Yes, you can call your teammates out, but you have to lead by example, too," Mourning said. "There have been plenty of times where I have pulled my teammates up, like at halftime the other day (Sunday).

"I got them in the huddle at halftime and I said, 'Look man, we're playing like a bunch of wimps. They played last night and we played last night. There is no excuse for them to come here on our home court and outwork us. So we have to do something.'

"They responded. By me telling them that, I had to do the same thing. I couldn't just say it and go out there and lolly-gag."

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Unfair shake: Riley said the fans' treatment of point guard Anthony Carter on Sunday was uncalled for. Carter, playing in just his second game since abdominal surgery, was booed repeatedly at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Wizards while going 0-for-4 from the field.

"When the fans are booing him, what they can do is they can boo me because I believe in A.C. and I think when he gets his health back and gets his game back... he's going to be fine," Riley said. "But he's got to be a man and got to deal with it."

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Can you repeat that? Playoff talk has become so common around Heat camp lately that players are finding new ways to answer those questions.

Take Brian Grant's unusual metaphor: "If we don't win, it doesn't matter what the other teams do because we're still in the cellar. Once we're able to creep up those old steps and go through grandma's door and we're in the kitchen, then we can make dinner, we can make our own table. But right now we're still in the cellar gathering wood."

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Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat

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Riley rips fans for booing Carter

Feb 27, 2002 3:17 PM EST

Heat coach Pat Riley voiced displeasure Tuesday about the AmericanAirlines Arena crowd booing backup point guard Anthony Carter in his second game back from sports-hernia surgery.

Carter shot 0 for 4 from the field, including two airballs, and committed two turnovers in Sunday's win against Washington.

''It bothered me,'' Riley said of the loud booing. ``It's absolutely, totally unfair. This kid is an all-out effort, energy, team-oriented good guy that comes and plays with his heart every single night. Because he misses a few jumpers or has a bad run, like he had the other night, he doesn't deserve that, but it's part of the game.

``When the fans are booing him, what they can do is they can boo me, because I believe in A.C., and when he gets his health back and his game back, he's going to be fine. He's got to be a man and deal with it.''

A radio reporter noted Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler also was booed when he was shown on the scoreboard during Sunday's game. ''Well, then that must tell you something about that whole situation,'' Riley said.

Said Carter: ``I didn't let [the boos] affect me. I thought I gave us a pretty good boost in the second half. I'm not worried about the fans. I'm just worried about pleasing my teammates, and playing for Coach.''

ZO THE LEADER

Eddie Jones said Alonzo Mourning has been vocal with teammates. ''He's the leader of this team,'' Jones said. ``If we have a terrible first half, he's telling us about it. Some players like to hear more from the players than the coach.''

A SOL SWITCH

The Sol announced a date change to its 2002 WNBA schedule. A June 7 home game against the Orlando Miracle will be switched to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at AmericanAirlines Arena.

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Miami Heat

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