PHILADELPHIA -- Improving to 6-0 at home, the Sixers got 28 points from Allen Iverson and 11 points and 12 assists from Eric Snow as the 76ers defeated the Washington Wizards 100-84 Sunday night to move into a tie with New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch were acquired over the summer in the trade that sent Dikembe Mutombo to the Nets, and the 76ers have become a better offensive team because of it.
Philadelphia is seventh in the league in scoring and reached 100 points Sunday night for the fifth time this season.
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| Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan (23) passes the ball past Philadelphia 76ers' Keith Van Horn in the second half Sunday, Nov. 17, 2002, in Philadelphia. (AP) |
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Another result of the trade has been a switch in defensive philosophy that helped produce 23 Washington turnovers.
"Having Dikembe enables you to do so many things as far as gambling and trapping. He's always there to bail you out. Now we don't have him, and we have to be great as far as team defense. That's one of the things coach (Larry) Brown has been harping on early in the season," Iverson said.
In attendance among the near-sellout crowd of 20,437 was Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who broke his right ankle in an NFL game earlier in the day. He received a standing ovation when shown on the scoreboard during the second quarter.
Jerry Stackhouse scored 29 and Michael Jordan 19, but no other Washington player reached double figures. Jordan and Stackhouse each committed five of the Wizards' 23 turnovers.
"We don't have a shot blocker, but we're getting our share of steals and creating turnovers," Brown said. "Our strength is our quickness on the perimeter."
Jordan closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer from 28 feet away, cutting Washington's deficit to 75-68, then began the fourth quarter with a steal that led to a 3-pointer by Tyronn Lue to make it 75-71.
A jumper by Jordan cut Philadelphia's lead to 77-73, but Greg Buckner scored on a putback, Jordan was called for traveling and Philadelphia scored six straight points.
After Stackhouse got the deficit down to 85-78 with 6:19 left, Van Horn converted his three-point play after being fouled by Jordan.
A miss by Jordan was followed by a layup from Buckner, and Jordan shot an airball on a turnaround with 3:45 left. Aaron McKie's three-point play with 2:59 left made it 95-78.
"We kind of lost our poise," Jordan said. "For us to be a good team we've got to have more composure. We have to play like a veteran team. Tonight we played like a young team."
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