NBA Game Summary - Philadelphia at Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN (Basketball News) - Andre Iguodala’s putback as time expired lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to an 86-84 comeback victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

Tied at 84-84 with nine seconds left, Philadelphia inbounded the ball to Allen Iverson, who was quickly double teamed. Iverson dished out to Chris Webber who then drove to the hoop. The layup did not fall, but Iguodala was able to grab the rebound and put back a shot in midair from about 10 feet that fell through the hoop as time ran out.

Iguodala ended with 14 points and eight rebounds while Iverson netted 39 points with nine rebounds and five assists for the 76ers, who snapped a three- game road losing streak.

"It’s a big win for us...just because we’ve been struggling to win a game after a game," said Iverson. "You feel good about not giving up one after we win one."

Webber added 11 points and eight boards in the win, which moved Philadelphia back to .500 for the season (20-20).

Wally Szczerbiak scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who lost for just the second time in their last six games. Kevin Garnett tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds and Eddie Griffin donated 13 points and 10 boards.

"(The loss) really hurts. We played well," said Szczerbiak. "They hit some big shots and we didn’t take the game when we had it."

The Timberwolves built a big lead early in the game and led by as many as 19 points before the Sixers completed their comeback.

Minnesota extend its lead to 65-46 late in the third quarter, but the 76ers accounted for nine of the last 11 points in the stanza to trail 67-55 going into the fourth.

The Sixers kept the hot hand in the final stanza, netting six straight to open the frame to cut their deficit to six at 67-61. Less than two minutes later, an Iverson three-pointer and four straight points from Lee Nailon pulled Philadelphia to within 71-70 with 8:20 remaining.

Minnesota had an answer as a 6-0 run made it 77-70. Later, a Trenton Hassell bucket and a Marko Jaric jumper put Minnesota ahead 83-75 with 2:54 remaining.

After a Garnett free throw made it an 84-77 game, Webber and Iverson took over to tie the contest.

First, Iverson connected on a jumper before Webber knocked down a free throw which was later followed by a three-pointer to make it 84-83. Iverson then connected on 1-of-2 free throws to tie the contest at 84-84 with 48 seconds remaining.

The Timberwolves turned the ball over at the other end, but Iguodala could not convert with a dunk, Webber failed with a tip attempt and Samuel Dalembert was called for offensive goaltending.

Jaric then missed a shot at the other end, which Webber rebounded and called timeout, setting up the exciting finish.

Midway through the first, Minnesota ripped off 12 straight points to go ahead 18-7 and the Timberwolves were ahead 22-14 after the opening 12 minutes.

The Sixers got as close as five, 26-21, with 7:26 left in the second until Minnesota exploded for a 14-1 run, capped by an Anthony Carter jumper, to take a commanding 40-22 advantage with 2:40 remaining.

Philadelphia closed out the quarter by scoring nine of the last 11 points, but still trailed by 11 at 42-31.

Back-to-back by layups by Garnett and Szczerbiak extended Minnesota to a 47-33 lead early in the third. Later, a jumper by Griffin and a Garnett dunk made it a 53-38 contest with 6:53 remaining in the third.