Vince. McGrady. Now Iverson. Damn. BOSTON (AP) -- Allen Iverson may be lost for the season, horrible news for a Philadelphia 76ers team that was counting on him to lead them back to the NBA Finals. The NBA's leading scorer and last year's MVP left the game at halftime with a broken bone in his left hand, and the 76ers rallied from a five-point deficit without him to beat the Boston Celtics 96-91 Friday night. Iverson is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a broken bone below his left index finger on his left (non-shooting) hand. It was diagnosed by X-rays taken at New England Baptist Hospital after he played the entire first half. Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said Iverson apparently was hurt early in the game when Boston's Walter McCarty hit him on the hand. "One guy can't make up for him," Philadelphia guard Eric Snow said. "It's got to be a collective effort." That's what the 76ers used after Iverson scored 22 points but they still trailed 50-45 at halftime. In the second half, Snow had 12 points, Derrick Coleman 10 and Speedy Claxton, who took Iverson's spot in the lineup, had nine. "We knew everybody would have to step up with him off the floor," Claxton said. "Everyone had to chip in, and we did it." The Celtics may have let down after controlling the game while Iverson was on the court. "We didn't play with a killer instinct," Paul Pierce said. "I don't understand it. We should go out there without their best player and put them on their backs. We didn't take advantage of it." The Celtics tied the game at 86 on Antoine Walker's 3-pointer with 6:40 remaining. Then Coleman hit three consecutive baskets and Boston never led again. Snow had 17 points and nine assists, while Coleman added 15 points and 15 rebounds as the 76ers won their fifth consecutive road game. The Celtics were led by Pierce with 26 points, Walker with 17 and Rodney Rogers with 15, but made only 11 of 33 shots in the second half when they were outscored 51-41. "Our intensity went down when we found out Iverson wasn't playing," Boston's Tony Delk said. "You've still got to play the same type of defense that had us a lead in the first half and we didn't do that." The game could be a preview of the first playoff round. Boston is in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-30 record, while Philadelphia is sixth at 36-32. The 76ers are 0-8 this season in games they played without Iverson. He hit seven of 12 shots and went 3-of-5 on 3-pointers in the first half when he also had three steals and three assists. "We beat a very good team in their building with a lot of adversity. That is very pleasing," Brown said. "The big thing was we got back in the game with five or six minutes left in the second quarter." The Celtics took their biggest lead, 33-18, with 58 seconds gone in the second quarter on McCarty's 11-foot turnaround jumper. The 76ers took their first lead 2:43 into the third quarter when Claxton's driving layup made the score 54-53. In the second half, Claxton scored seven of the 76ers' first 15 points, giving them a 60-56 lead. Coleman's three straight field goals gave Philadelphia a 92-86 lead before Walker got the next four points, making it 92-90 with 2:12 left. Snow restored the four-point lead with a layup with 1:50 to go and Pierce hit a free throw, closing the gap to 94-91 with 23 seconds remaining. But Snow finished off the victory with two free throws with 19 seconds left. Boston had won eight of its previous 10 games, starting with a victory in Philadelphia on March 4 that ended a four-game losing streak.
what happened to McGrady Old School? damn that's crazy though. There is REALLY no comp in the East this year. Bucks got it easy as long as they don't get overconfident.
Severe back spams vs the Hornets, layed motionless on the court for a few minutes and was carried off on a stretcher in the 2nd quarter of the Magic's game vs the Hornets tonight.
Thanks for the info mfclark. I hope it doesn't keep him out for too long. I was looking forward to seeing McGrady and Iverson in the playoffs. It would suck to see playoff teams with number one options of Dike and Mike Miller.
dont yall worry about Mac. He will be back. HE responded well to Muscle Relaxors in the hospital and was feeling better. THe MRI was negative he will be kept out of sundays game as a precaution and Will be day to day. SHould be back vs the bulls.
How do the Bucks have it easy? They almost suck more then us. After the all-star break they are 10-18.
Um yeah most ppl do respond well to muscle relaxers they usually get hooked on them as well especially really need them for an extended length of time if i were a magic fan i'd want him to sit... save him for next year
That's true, but still, playoffs are a different story than the regular season. I still think they have the talent to make it to the finals.
Iverson will be back before the playoffs. He broke the finger on his non-shooting hand. No way does that keep him out for the postseason.
Considering the Magic are 4th in the East, that's the last thing fans of the Magic want. McGrady will not play Sunday vs Milwaukee but will likely play Tuesday vs the Bulls. At the latest, the game following that vs Charlotte.
The Bucks will come together in the playoffs and probably waste whoever they play. If not, they'll trade 2 of the big 3.
Iverson out's gonna hurt. Since the Sixers are my 2nd favorite team, I think it'd be cool to see them go far without Iverson.
Oh, in related news, last night I played NBA Live after trading for Odom and we swept the Magic (sound familiar) in the finals. Eddie averaged 32, 17, and 6 while dishing out a staggering 12.3 assists per game. For everyone who may be curious, none of the Magic could hit a field goal except McGrady who scored 88 in Game 4 and averaged 55 over the finals.
