Brotherly Love and Loss For Iverson
A.I. got a hero’s welcome from the Sixers “faithful” in his first game back in Philly since being traded to the Nuggets. The Sixers players on the other hand were not as welcoming.
Iverson who played the first eleven and a half years of his career in Philly was showered with cheers throughout the game. He even kissed the Sixers logo at halfcourt showing the fans that the feelings were mutual. It was a great scene, and could’ve been a storybook ending for Iverson had he hit the long jumper (which would’ve forced overtime) he took late in the fourth quarter. But the underlying story was the up and coming Sixers.
The Sixers (currently sixth in the eastern conference playoff race) reached .500 in the standings with their 115-113 win. They were led by their current PG Andre Miller who finished with 28 pts and 12 assts and the other A.I. Andre Iguodala who had 21 pts. The new and improved Sixers have gotten a couple of big wins of late and have played themselves back into respectability.
Iverson had himself a good game leading all scorers with 32 pts adding 8 asts and 3 stls. His efforts weren’t enough however, as the Nuggets lost their second game in a row since dropping what seemed like 1000 points against Seattle. The Nuggets are now a game and a half behind the Warriors for the eighth and final playoff spot in the brutal west.
In an emotional game for Iverson and everyone in the building last night, Sixers fans showed him the ‘Brotherly Love’ they are so famous for. More importantly the Sixers players showed their fans, they might have a new reason to love again.
March 22, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Iverson put in enough work in Philly to get a standing ovation the next three times he plays there. I still can’t believe they went to the finals this millenium.