NBA Game Summary - Cleveland at Philadelphia 03.4.2005
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Philadelphia, PA (Basketball News) - Allen Iverson scored 31 points and reached another career milestone in the process in Philadelphia’s 98-89 victory over Cleveland at the Wachovia Center.
Iverson, who had nine assists, became the 73rd player in league history to score 16,000 points with a field goal in the third quarter.
Chris Webber, in his fourth game with Philadelphia, added 24 and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who snapped a three-game home losing streak. Samuel Dalembert contributed 15 points in the win.
"The first couple of games he (Webber) didn’t play like he’s capable," Iverson said. "I’m happy for him...hopefully he can build off this game."
LeBron James scored a game-high 34 points to lead Cleveland, which committed a season-high 27 turnovers and lost its fifth straight game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points in the loss, the seventh straight on the road for Cleveland.
Back-to-back jumpers by Webber stretched the Philadelphia lead to 10 with just under four minutes remaining. A monstrous dunk by Andre Iguodala increased the Sixers’ lead to 92-80 with 2:23 to play and Cleveland would get only as close as seven points the rest of the way.
Philadelphia, which led 47-46 at halftime, extended its lead in the third quarter. Ilgauskas’ basket to start the third quarter gave the Cavs the lead, but the Sixers used a 10-2 run to open a 57-50 advantage. The Sixers would stay in front the remainder of the period and Iverson hit a fall-away jumper at the buzzer for a 73-65 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Sixers led 17-6 after a three-pointer by Kyle Korver midway through the opening quarter, but Cleveland fought back and a trey by Jeff McInnis tied the game at 27-27 in the final minute. Two free throws by Iverson gave Philadelphia a 29-27 edge after 12 minutes.
The game remained close and the Sixers, behind 14 points each from Webber and Iverson, led by one at the break. Cleveland turned the ball over 13 times in the half, compared to just five by the Sixers.