• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Iverson's Bad Night is AWA's Last Night: Suns? Rout of 76ers is Final Game Before Center?S Renaming

Posted on: Thursday, 5 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Mike Tulumello, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Jan. 5--After years of rim-clanking horrors, Allen Iverson had his last terrible shooting game at America West Arena on Wednesday night.

But then, nobody else will struggle ever again at AWA, either.

In the last game played at the building carrying the AWA label -- it changes to US Airways Center on Friday -- Iverson shot 7-for-23, allowing the Suns to roll to an easy 105-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA's scoring leader, who had a season-low 16 points, now averages 19.7 points against the Suns in 13 career games, his lowest mark vs. any NBA opponent.

In seven games in Phoenix, he averages 18.4 points on 31 percent shooting.

Oddly enough, coach Mike D'Antoni had praised Steve Nash's defense of late before the game. He did so again afterward, though he emphasized that, "You can't stop Allen Iverson. He has to have an off night.

"But Steve stayed in front of him and did a good job." Nash had a similar take, saying, "I think I did my job.

"But Allen Iverson can score on anybody. I certainly can't take credit for shutting him down." But he can take credit for knocking down shots when the Sixers played off him. He had a game-high 24 points.

The Suns also got a combined 37 bench points from James Jones (19) and Eddie House (18).

The Suns (20-11) now have won five of their last six games.

And going back to Nov. 20 -- when they had started 4-5 -- the Suns have since run up the NBA's third-best record (16-6). Only Detroit (17-3) and San Antonio (17-5) have been better.

With Iverson misfiring, the Suns blew the game open with a 19-3 run that turned a 48-44 deficit moments after halftime into a 63-51 lead.

The margin eventually reached 26 points as the Suns were able to rest Nash and Shawn Marion (13 points, 13 rebounds, five steals).

"We needed that," said Marion, who averages nearly 41 minutes but played only 34 in this one.

He pointed to two huge tests at home Friday vs. San Antonio and Saturday vs.

Miami, saying, "It's big to get that rest in the fourth quarter." The Sixers' Chris Webber missed the game with a lower back strain, his first miss of the season.

Samuel Dalembert had a career-high 22 rebounds.

BARBOSA NEARS RETURN Leandro Barbosa, out for the past 12 games with a left knee sprain, could be cleared soon to resume basketball work and return to action in about 10 days, D'Antoni said.

"He could start practicing by the end of the week," the Suns coach said.

Barbosa previously missed eight games with a similar injury to a different spot on the same ligament.

Though Barbosa was physically ready to play in coming back the last time, D'Antoni thought the point guard might not have been mentally prepared to play with a knee brace.

This time, D'Antoni said he'll likely wait until Barbosa doesn't need a brace. "We'll be a little more cautious," he said.

D'Antoni also talked up the chances of Amare Stoudemire's return from microfracture surgery on his left knee.

The final decision is up to Stoudemire -- though, "All indications are that around the All-Star break (in February) or right afterward, he'll be ready." NEW NAME ARRIVES The arena becomes US Airways Center at a ceremony hosted by Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo and US Airways chairman Doug Parker -- in which the public is invited -- set for noon Friday on the plaza outside the arena.

The building has been called America West Arena since it opened in 1992.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NYSE:LCC,

Source: The Tribune

More News in this Category