Allen Iverson led the Sixers to a surprising game 1 victory over the favorited Lakers in one of the most memorable performances in NBA Finals history.
The Lakers dominated early, in what looked like to be their fourth series sweep. Scoring 16 straight points, the Lakers took a 21–9 lead over the Allen Iverson-led 76ers. Despite this major lead, Allen Iverson began dominating at the half of the 2nd quarter scoring 30 first half points. The 76ers turned the game around and even went up by 15 points during the third quarter before the Lakers started a comeback. Shaquille O'Neal was a major factor in the comeback, scoring 18 points in the quarter.
The Lakers played fantastically during the 4th quarter, and Tyronn Lue came off the bench and limited Allen Iverson to merely 3 points and had 3 assists and 2 steals of his own. The game was eventually tied at 94, and when Dikembe Mutombo missed two free throws and Eric Snow's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim, the game went to overtime.
The Lakers dominated for the first half of the overtime, scoring 5 points, Raja Bell then hit a tough layup to answer followed by Allen Iverson scoring 7 straight points, including a three pointer to give them the lead followed by and step back 2-pointer over Tyronn Lue which is famously known as he stepped over Lue after hitting the shot. The 76ers finished up with a 6 point win to take the first game of the series.
Box score [ Ссылка ]
