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Mavs' Terry sends Sixers to seventh straight defeat (Roundup)
By Paul Levine Dec 1, 2009, 7:00 GMT
Los Angeles - Quiet for most of the night, Jason Terry made the big noise in the end to rescue the Dallas Mavericks.
Terry nailed the game-winning 17-footer with 1.4 seconds left as the Mavericks sent the stumbling Philadelphia 76ers to their seventh straight defeat, 104-102 on Monday night.
The Mavs blew a 17-point lead and were knotted at 102-102 on Andre Iguodala's three-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Terry took an inbound pass from Jason Kidd in the right corner, and hesitated before launching the winner over Willie Green.
Iguodala had a chance to give the Sixers the win, but, surrounded by three defenders he missed a desperation three-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer.
'Jason Kidd is one of the greatest passers to ever play this game,' said Terry, who finished with just seven points.
'He hit me right on the run and I could have caught it and shot it right there. But there was still five seconds on the clock. So, I gave a little pump fake, a little spin, another pump fake and I cleared myself for the shot.
'The shot went down, but more importantly is we got the stop on the other end of the floor. The stop was crucial and Shawn Marion did an outstanding job of getting his hand up and making them make a tough shot.'
Germany's Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 28 points, Kidd added a season-best 22 with 11 assists, while reserve Drew Gooden finished with 15 points and 10 boards for Dallas (13-5) which avoided its first two-game losing streak after getting trounced by 16 at Cleveland on Saturday night.
'They keep coming at you; they're a tough team to play,' Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said of the Sixers. 'It's a great win. I would have liked to have closed better than we did. But some nights it's about survival and that's what this was.'
Green scored a season-high 23 points, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young had 21 apiece while Igoudala finished with 19 for the Sixers, (5-13) whose comeback bid was foiled by Terry.
'Sometimes when you're going through the thick of it you take some games like this on the chin,' Green said.
'It was a good, hard fought game, but give credit to the Dallas Mavericks and Jason Terry. He hit a good shot from the corner. I was on him I thought, and pretty much in his face but it was a good shot.'
Earlier in the day, the Sixers met with four-time NBA scoring champ Allen Iverson about a possible return to the team he spent the first 11 seasons playing for.
Iverson and his representatives talked for about two hours in Dallas with 76ers president Ed Stefanski, assistant general manager Tony DiLeo, coach Eddie Jordan and assistant coach Aaron McKie.
'Both parties remain non-committal regarding a final decision and we will continue to discuss internally whether or not to pursue this course,' Stefanski said in a statement.
Jordan, however, said the meeting with Iverson was 'intriguing,' he liked what he heard, and that Iverson would bring an aggressive scoring mentality.'
Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 16, after stubbornly coming off the bench in three games. With no team showing interest in signing him, the 10-time All-Star guard and former league MVP announced plans to retire following 14 NBA seasons on a web site posting nine days later.
Elsewhere: Golden State Warriors 126, Indiana Pacers 107 Monta Ellis exploded for a career-high 45 points before fouling out with six minutes remaining, carrying the host Warriors (6-10) to just their third win in the last eight games.
Danny Granger scored 22 points and Mike Dunleavy added 22 against his former club for Indiana (6-9), which led by 15 in the opening half but fell for the sixth time in seven games.
Milwaukee Bucks 99, Chicago Bulls 97 Australian Andrew Bogut, sidelined for six games with a leg injury, had 22 points with 15 rebounds and the host Bucks snapped a four-game skid while sending the Bulls to their fifth straight defeat.
The Bulls nearly dug themselves out of a 14-point, third-quarter hole. But with an opportunity to force overtime, Brad Miller's jumper grazed the rim at the buzzer.
Charlie Bell scored 16 for Milwaukee (9-7), while Argentine Carlos Delfino and rookie Brandon Jennings added 15 apiece.
John Salmons topped Chicago (6-9) with 23 points and Luol Deng had 22 with 14 rebounds. Derrick Rose added 17 of his 19 points in the second half, while Joakim Noah finished with 16 and 17 boards.
Utah Jazz 120, Memphis Grizzlies 93 Ronnie Brewer scored 25 points, Carlos Boozer had 24 with 15 rebounds, leading the host Jazz to its season-high third straight victory.
OJ Mayo tallied 20 points, and Sam Young had a career-high 17 as Memphis (6-12) dropped its 10th straight game to Utah.
