Allen Iverson finally shook his shadow and shook up the NBA Finals. Hounded by unheralded Tyronn Lue, Iverson scored seven of his 48 points in a one-minute span of overtime as the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Los Angeles Lakers with a 107-101 victory in the opener of the NBA Finals. Iverson scored 30 points in a scintillating first half, letting everyone know that the 76ers were going to be more than another pushover for the powerful Lakers. His late flurry silenced the Staples Center and unceremoniously ended Los Angeles’ run at a perfect postseason. “Anybody that bet on it, some broke people out there,” Iverson said. “I’m glad nobody didn’t bet their life on it ’cause they definitely would be dead right now.” Instead, the Sixers — double-digit underdogs — are very much alive as they again displayed their heroic heart. “Our guys just try hard,” Sixers coach Larry Brown said. “This is kind of unexpected but it’s neat.” In between Iverson outbursts, Lue stymied the NBA Most Valuable Player for nearly 20 minutes, using his quickness to prevent Iverson from even getting the ball, let alone shoot it. He had spent the last two practices impersonating Iverson and apparently got pretty good at it. “I just try to deny him the ball as much as possible, because when he does get the ball, the best penetrator in the game is going to be hard to stop,” Lue said. “We were trying to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible.” “He was holding me the whole time,” Iverson said. But the third-year reserve let his guard down for just a second and it cost the Lakers. Iverson’s two free throws pulled the Sixers within 99-98 with 1:46 remaining and the Lakers called a timeout. Lue drove and threw up a wild shot as he fell out of bounds. The Sixers rebounded and Iverson ran out in transition. With Lue nowhere in sight, he drilled a 3-pointer that gave Philadelphia the lead for good at 101-99 with 1:19 left. “That was really the knife that wounded us,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. Rick Fox spoiled
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