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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Aaron McKie realizes he's not Allen
Iverson. The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.
McKie stepped in for the injured Iverson, scoring a season-high
24 points as the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz
97-91 Tuesday night, ending a 13-year losing streak in Utah.
|  | | Utah's John Stockton realizes there's no way getting around the Sixers' Kevin Ollie. |
"I was just trying to play basketball," said McKie, who played
despite a slight case of the flu. "I just stayed within the
offense and coach called my number. Sometimes, you have to play
when you're sick."
Iverson partially dislocated his right shoulder in Friday's game
against the New York Knicks and was expected to be out one to three weeks. He made the
trip but never left the Philadelphia locker room.
The Sixers didn't need him after McKie made 8 of 15 shots.
Philadelphia also compensated for Iverson's absence by shooting 56
percent through three quarters, then holding off a fourth-quarter
surge by the Jazz.
"This is a strange team," said Toni Kukoc, who scored 15
points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. "Whenever
everything's right, someone finds a way to make something wrong.
When everything's wrong, we find a way to win."
Tyrone Hill and Theo Ratliff, who also was feeling ill, each
scored 13.
The Philadelphia lineup looked like it was held together by duct
tape.
Kevin Ollie, waived by New Jersey on Dec. 15, started in place
of Eric Snow, out after surgery to repair a broken right ankle.
Rodney Buford, signed last week, stepped in for Pepe Sanchez, out
with a sore hip.
The Sixers also played without Matt Geiger, who didn't dress
because of a sore right knee, and Speedy Claxton, who's recovering
from surgery to repair a torn left knee ligament.
"Anytime you come here and win, it's a miracle. When you're so
short-handed, it's even more significant," said Sixers coach Larry
Brown. "We were trying to find ways to get Aaron to the bathroom
from time to time but a lot of other people stepped up."
Until their late run, the Jazz couldn't slow anyone.
"We just tried to find the hot man," Ollie said. "They didn't
really know who to defend when everyone was aggressive."
John Stockton led the Jazz with 19 points and 12 assists but
Utah was doomed by 45 percent shooting and a 36-29 rebounding
disadvantage.
Bryon Russell scored 17 points, John Starks had 14 and Danny
Manning 13 for the Jazz. Karl Malone scored 12 and had five
rebounds, well below his averages of 23.4 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Philadelphia went ahead by double figures about 10 minutes
before halftime and never let the lead slip below 10 points until
Stockton hit a 3-pointer with 3:44 to play, cutting Utah's deficit
to 90-81.
Russell added another 3-pointer with 2:58 remaining, but Hill
scored four straight and McKie added two free throws to extend the
lead to 96-86 with 1:05 to play, and the Sixers ran out the clock
from there.
"We made a run at them, but we just didn't have enough gas down
the stretch," Manning said.
The Jazz trailed all night, struggling to find a winning
formula. Utah shot 36 percent in the first half. While Utah heated
up in the fourth quarter, Malone had only four points in the second
half.
In last week's 91-89 victory at Philadelphia, Malone scored 41,
including 13 in the fourth quarter.
"We have to get the ball to Karl more," Stockton said. "Our
team's good when he's good."
Game notes
Iverson has missed 20 games to injuries and three to
suspensions during his five NBA seasons. The Sixers are 10-13 in
those games. ... Russell took a finger in the eye from McKie late
in the third. He went to the locker room and a physician was paged,
but Russell soon returned to the bench and was back in action in
the fourth. ... Stockton shot the 4,999th free throw of his 17-year
career. ... The Sixers opened a three-game road trip and extended
their road winning streak to five games. ... Philadelphia's last
victory in Salt Lake City was on Nov. 30, 1987, at the old Salt
Palace.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
Sore-shouldered Iverson expected to miss 1-3 weeks
RECAPS
Charlotte 115
Cleveland 110
Detroit 101
Boston 96
Atlanta 81
New Jersey 76
Dallas 114
Seattle 93
Milwaukee 89
Orlando 77
Minnesota 100
Toronto 97
San Antonio 103
Houston 95
Denver 109
LA Clippers 108
Philadelphia 97
Utah 91
Phoenix 97
Vancouver 95
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Larry Brown knows how special it is to beat the Utah Jazz.
wav: 197 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
Larry Brown Official Site
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