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EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
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Closer Look Iverson takes over when mirror image finally cracks
Updated: Thursday June 07, 2001 9:01 AM
By Marty Burns, Sports Illustrated LOS ANGELES -- For Sixers guard Allen Iverson, it must have been like looking in a mirror. Every time he lifted his head during the second half of Wednesday's Game 1 of the NBA Finals, diminutive Lakers point guard Tyronn Lue was staring back at him. Fake right, and Lue was there. Dribble left, and Lue was there. "He's a tough player, man," Iverson said of Lue's sticky defense, which helped limit him to just three points on one-of-five shooting in the fourth quarter. "It was frustrating." Just when it looked like the Lakers had an answer for the Answer, however, Lue made a crucial error. With L.A. leading 99-98 in overtime, he careened into the lane and tried a wild layup against Dikembe Mutombo that missed badly. Seeing Lue hit the deck, Iverson streaked down court, collected a pass beyond the three-point arc and hit the shot to give Philadelphia the lead for good. "That was really the knife that wounded us," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson.
Until that point, Iverson had been struggling in the second half. Though he finished with 48 points, he had managed just five in 22 minutes against Lue before hitting a pair of foul shots in OT to pull the Sixers within 99-98. No matter how hard he tried, Iverson just couldn't seem to wiggle himself free of the baby-faced Lue, who is roughly the same size and nearly as quick. Lue played the role of Iverson for the scout team during Lakers practices Monday and Tuesday. He even wore a white compression sleeve on his right arm, just like Iverson, and joked about getting tattos. Lue ultimately thought better of the idea, lest he stoke Iverson's fires. But there he was in Iverson's face at crunch time Wednesday night, overplaying him for steals and denying him the ball. He even managed to keep Iverson from getting free on the final play of regulation, forcing the Sixers to go to Eric Snow for an off-balance shot that missed badly. "I was telling the referee, this is my first NBA Finals, a dream come true," Iverson said. "And, I mean, we've got 18 seconds left and I can't get the ball for the last shot? Something's wrong." Whether Lue can continue to harass Iverson the rest of the series remains to be seen. As Sixers head coach Larry Brown noted afterward, a few backdoor plays might have forced the Lakers to ease up on their pressure defense. Also, Lue is not as reliable a shooter as Derek Fisher. As far as Iverson is concerned, it doesn't matter. As he showed while lighting up Kobe Bryant in the first half, there is nobody who can stop him when his shots are falling. In the end, all Iverson needed was a little space. He got it, and now the Lakers' hopes of a perfect postseason are history.
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Iverson scored 48 points, sixth most in NBA Finals history, and added six assists, five rebounds and five steals. His 18 points in the second quarter kept the Sixers in the game, and he added seven in overtime, including a 3-pointer in transition that gave Philly the lead for good at 101-99. 
With the Sixers trailing 99-94 in OT, reserve guard 
The Sixers backup center's 5-of-7 shooting in just 14 minutes provided some much-needed offense. Geiger had appeared in only two of Philly's 13 playoff games because of sore left quadriceps. But he looked sharp Wednesday as he swished four consecutive jumpers, including one in Shaq's mug in the second quarter, when the Sixers got back in the game. 
