76ers-Pistons series even at two
PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson's quick feet and smart decisions couldn't be stopped by Detroit, especially with the Pistons getting almost nothing on offense from anyone but Richard Hamilton.
Iverson had 36 points and 11 assists Sunday night as the 76ers evened their second-round series 2-2 by beating Detroit 95-82 Sunday night.
Chauncey Billups returned to the lineup for Detroit after missing two games, but the point guard shot just 1-for-6 and did not make a single drive to the basket all night.
Backup Chucky Atkins had all sorts of difficulty trying to defend Iverson, whose quickness allowed him to free himself for jumpers -- or to drive the lane or the baseline, draw extra defenders and create enough easy baskets to allow Philadelphia to maintain a comfortable lead throughout.
Iverson had his shot working, making jumpers on three straight possessions early in the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia a 70-56 lead.
Iverson finished 13-for-27 from the field, and his 11 assists accounted for more than half of Philadelphia's total. He scored 15 in the final quarter.
The series will not resume until Wednesday night, giving Billups two days to rest his sore left ankle and Pistons coach Rick Carlisle the same amount of time to devise a strategy to neutralize Iverson.
Hamilton is the only Detroit defender who has had any luck staying close to Iverson while chasing him around, but he spent less time defending Iverson in this game than he did in the three previous ones.
That was likely a scheme to allow Hamilton to save his energy for the offensive end, where he was the only Detroit player with more than two field goals at the start of the fourth quarter.
BOSTON-- Celtics forward Antoine Walker is facing investigations by the NBA and the Boston police after an argument with a fan at the end of Game 3 against New Jersey.
NBA spokesman Mark Broussard confirmed Sunday that the league is investigating. A decision on discipline usually comes before the player's next game, which is scheduled for tonight.
Boston police spokesman John Boyle said Sunday that a 43-year-old man filed a police report Friday night in which he claimed that Walker poked him in the face several times.
BEIJING -- Yao Ming played a new role -- telethon host.
The Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 center helped raise more than $300,000 in an effort to find a cure for SARS during a fund-raising event broadcast Sunday from his hometown of Shanghai.
SARS has killed at least 240 people in China, the most of any country in the world.
"I returned to my motherland but found it struggling through a most serious trial," Yao said. "Now everyone needs to make their contribution to the fight against SARS."