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Pulling together Philadelphia's team effort bests Cleveland in OT
Posted: Saturday December 04, 1999 12:21 AM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Aaron McKie made the right choice. McKie hit an 8-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer and finished with 25 points, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 102-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. "We had two or three options on it," McKie said of the final play. "Billy [Owens] got me the ball, and my whole thinking was to get a shot up and try to get a foul." McKie got the ball at midcourt with 5.6 seconds remaining and drove to the right of the lane. He stopped and appeared to lose the ball as he went up for the shot, but got off a jumper that swished through the net. Cleveland's Brevin Knight had tied the score at 100 by driving the lane for a layup with 5.6 seconds to play. Lamond Murray sank a 3-pointer to pull Cleveland within 99-98 with 12.3 seconds left. Those plays had McKie worried. "That's like a bad omen," he said. "When you're up four with 15 seconds left, you think all you have to do is get a stop, a rebound, whatever." Owens then made one of two free throws with 10.3 seconds remaining to give Philadelphia a 100-98 advantage. "It should never have gotten to overtime," Cleveland's Mark Bryant said. "We started settling for jump shots, and they made a run on us. We were our own worst enemies." Tyrone Hill and Eric Snow helped Philadelphia overcome a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Hill had a season-high 22 points and 16 rebounds for the 76ers. He scored five points in a 13-3 run that pulled Philadelphia within 80-78 with 5:35 to play in regulation. "It was a team effort," Hill said. "Defensively, we dug in, and that opened things up at the other end. That usually is the case." Snow took over in the final minute of regulation by scoring five points, including three free throws, in a 30-second span. His free throw with 11 seconds to play gave the 76ers a 91-89 lead. The Cavs worked the ball inside to Shawn Kemp, who misfired, but Murray tipped in the airball to tie the score at 91 with 5.2 seconds left and force overtime. Murray led Cleveland with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kemp had 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting before fouling out early in overtime. "It was a tough night for Shawn," Cavs coach Randy Wittman said. "He got into some foul trouble, which caused him to sit on the bench for a long stretch of time and got him out of his rhythm." Bob Sura scored 20 points for Cleveland but did not score after the third quarter. He missed two free throws with 19.6 seconds left in overtime that could have tied the score at 97. McKie then made two free throws for a 99-95 lead. Sura's 13 first-half points helped Cleveland take a 52-42 halftime lead. Murray had 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter as the Cavs built a 30-21 lead. Notes: The Cavaliers honored former guard Austin Carr as one of their All-Time Starting Five during halftime ceremonies. ... The 76ers activated center Matt Geiger and placed center Nazr Mohammed on the injured list with a lower back strain before the game. ... Cleveland lost the first meeting with the 76ers this season, 106-83, in Philadelphia on Nov. 26. ... Cleveland has won 27 of the last 33 meetings between the teams. ... All five Cavs starters scored in double figures for the second time this season. ... George Lynch contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia.
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