Sixers stay hot and cool off Shaq-less Heat

Nov 5, 2006, 22:05 GMT

Philadelphia, PA - Allen Iverson poured in 31 points to go along with 13 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers caught fire in the third quarter to down the defending NBA champion Miami Heat, 107-98, at the Wachovia Center.

Kyle Korver sparked the undefeated Sixers in the decisive third quarter, scoring 13 of his 22 points as Philadelphia outscored Miami 28-16.

'He's been unbelievable,' said Sixers head coach Maurice Cheeks. 'Kyle has just been off the charts the first three games - the way he's been shooting the ball.'

Andre Iguodala had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia, which has started a season 3-0 for the first since the 2000-01 campaign. The Sixers began that season with ten consecutive victories on their way to the NBA Finals.

'We have been making stops when we need stops the most, especially down the stretch of games,' said Iverson. 'We have been scoring the basketball when we need to.'

Antoine Walker scored a team-high 23 points for the Heat, who were without the services of center Shaquille O' Neal.

O' Neal sat out the game with a left knee contusion and Alonzo Mourning got the start at center, finishing with just six points and two boards while battling foul trouble.

Dwyane Wade scored 20 points and had 11 helpers for Miami, which has lost 11 of its last 13 trips to the City of Brotherly Love.

'(O' Neal) was saying his knee was sore yesterday, but I didn't know he wasn't going to play until right before the game,' said Wade. 'It was tough to have that right before the game.'

Trailing by as many as 11 in the third, Korver ignited the Sixers' offense and Philadelphia took the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Down 66-57, back-to-back three pointers by Iverson and Korver brought Philadelphia within three.

Dorell Wright answered with a trey for the Heat, but Korver came right back with a three-ball of his own and Iguodala dropped in two from the free-throw line to make it 69-68 with 3:46 left in the third.

Udonis Haslem connected on a hook shot for Miami, but another trey from Korver tied the game.

Stephen Hunter then rejected Gary Payton, setting up Iguodala's three-point- play on a dunk at the other end that put the Sixers up 74-71.

Korver's jumper made it a five-point game and after Wade's basket for the Heat, Korver connected on both of his shots from the charity stripe to give Philadelphia a 78-73 lead heading into the final quarter.

'We are going to need Kyle to do a lot of things for us throughout the course of the season,' said Iverson. 'I think it is great how he has handled the responsibilities of being the sixth man and not worrying about being a starter.'

After the teams traded baskets to start the fourth, Philadelphia went on a 15-3 run to open up a 95-78 lead with 6:51 left to play. The run, which saw Iverson go 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, was highlighted by two treys from Iguodala.

Miami managed to get back within 10 on Walker's three-pointer with 3:21 left, but the Sixers answered with five straight points to cruise to the victory.

'Our whole focus is to continue trying to get better,' said Cheeks. 'Playing better defense is what we talked about at halftime and trying to eliminate their ability to get to the rim because they shot a lot of lay-ups. The second half was huge for us on the defensive end and that's what has allowed us to be 3-0 right now.'

The Heat held a slim 29-26 lead after the opening quarter. Philadelphia briefly took the lead in the second quarter, but Miami closed out the first half with a 18-8 run and took a 57-50 lead into the break.

'I thought we played the game extremely well for about three and a half quarters and then we let it get away from us,' said Miami head coach Pat Riley. 'Granted they were making a lot of their shots, but we just stopped moving the ball. We stopped doing the things that got us the lead. We lost our grip defensively and didn't close out hard on guys and it ends up in a loss.'

Game Notes

Dating back to last season, Iverson has scored 30 or more points in six consecutive games, two shy of his career high of eight in a row.

Korver made five three pointers, giving him exactly 500 for his career, good enough for second place on Philadelphia's all-time list. Iverson is first with 871 three- pointers.

© 2006 The Sports Network