With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
We take you back to 2003 for this one as the Sixers were looking to eliminate the New Orleans Hornets and move on to Round 2. They wasted a chance to do so in Game 5 at home and this was a new opportunity for them to get it done on the road. New Orleans would throw everything they could at them with their trio of Jamal Mashburn, Baron Davis, and David Wesley, but even that wasn’t enough to stop Allen Iverson.
May 2, 2003
The Sixers needed to take care of business. They knew they wasted an opportunity in Game 5 at home to finish it off and they did not want to allow the Hornets to force a Game 7. So, in order to do so on the road, they would need their superstar leader to step up and get the job done. As he had done so many times before, Iverson laced up his sneakers and did what he does best.
The Answer dropped 45 points with seven rebounds making every big play down the stretch to lead the Sixers to a 107-103 win on the road and finish off the pesky Hornets. Iverson scored 15 points in the fourth quarter as he took his game to another level when the situation called for it.
His big night comes after a few games where he struggled in the series. After scoring 55 in Game 1, he was held to less than 30 points in Games 2 through 5. Iverson broke through in Game 6 as he told reporters:
After that first game I had 55 points and heard everybody
talking about what they were doing against me, all I thought about
is keep fighting and something positive will come out of it. Obviously, I wasn’t dead in the water. It’s just not as easy as people think to score 55 points night in and night out.
The Sixers would move on to Round 2 and take on the Detroit Pistons. They would battle valiantly, but they would fall in six tough games as they ran into a Pistons team that was beginning their reign in the East. [lawrence-related id=30331,30325,30318]