Sixers 97 Magic 85 PHILADELPHIA – Their eyes were hollow, filled with fright, and the muscles they had grown overnight withered with their swagger – and their game. Their look was familiar, one that comes when you venture into someone else’s playground, where the rims are unfriendly and the folk even worse.
The Orlando Magic: Bad Boys in Orlando, lost boys in Philadelphia.
And now a three seed in peril.
It seems there are no laws in this post-Jordan postseason. The Sixers – the Eastern Conference’s six seed who hosted their first playoff game in eight years last night – beat the Magic 97-85 to join the Knicks and Kings as unlikely underdogs smelling the second round.
This time, Allen Iverson, bumped and bruised and held to 13 points by the Magic in Game 2, put welts all over the ego of Orlando with 33 and a playoff record 10 steals. This time, the Sixers battered a superstar – Penny Hardaway scored 18 but managed only two shots in the first half when the game stopped being one. This time, Larry Brown outcoached Chuck Daly – Orlando committed a whopping 27 turnovers, including 20 in that first half.
With the Sixers ahead 2-1 in this best of five and Game 4 back at the frenzied First Union Center tomorrow, there may not be a next time. The Magic Kingdom is crumbling.
“We got caught in a tidal wave and got swept out to sea,” Daly said. “We’re going to have to do some soul-searching and mind-healing.”
It was the Sixers – particularly Iverson – who had to physical heal after Game 2. And so in Philly, they talked pre-game of enforcers. The front page of a newspaper had Rocky throwing a punch at Mickey Mouse. Inside, the headline screamed: “Wanna basketbrawl?”
You thought the Heat and Knicks had changed venues.
Riley would have loved it.
But Florida’s other team? The Magic were taken aback, particularly in the third quarter when the Sixers rode that tidal wave to a 64-41 lead. Iverson’s ninth steal and subsequent slam started it. But there was rookie Larry Hughes’ highlight reverse dunk and Eric Snow’s cross-over driving layup and Snow’s alley-oop pass to Hughes that left the building shaking.
The ravenous crowd of 20,874, which frantically waved white towels, loved it. And the Sixers fed off it. “I was so excited,” said Iverson. “Even when I was standing still I wanted to move around.”
Iverson bruised his hip during a fall in the first half but that didn’t keep him still, either. His 10 steals also set a franchise record. “It’s important I send another message that it’s not just about scoring points (with me),” he said.
The Sixers were a team of unbridled energy in the first half. Iverson reached double figures in the first quarter. His supporting cast foamed at the mouth on defense. At one point, the Magic had 19 turnovers, the Sixers only two.
It seemed as though Philly – the city, the fans, the players – welcomed the notion of a court fight. Sixers center Matt Geiger even got into a tug-of-war with Daly over the ball at the sidelines.
“He wanted the ball,” Daly said. “I wanted the ball. I thought that was kind of cute. It was the only chance I got to smile all night.”