Philly Strikes First
KG dominant on D, can't make up for bad O.
Sixers-106
T-Wolves 93
Take that Spree! Iggy scored 2 of his 13 points on this play, helping the team win.
Minneapolis, MN (AP) -- The teams shook off the hype once they all got onto the floor for Game 1 of the Finals. "It was sort of different when we were taking warm-ups because, I mean, the crowd was huge with everyone wearing blue. But once the game started, we shook that off." Andre Iguodala said. The crowd was booing as the Sixers recieved the first tip of the 2005 NBA Finals. The T-Wolves started the game off with a 6 point lead at the quarter. The entire game mainly went the Sixers way too, as they took a 14 point halftime lead and went on a 9-0 run late in the 3rd to put it away. "We had C-Webb in foul trouble, but he still contributed and did so very well." T-Wolves coach Kevin McHale said.
The Sixers then had a double-digit lead consistently in the 4th quarter. Minnesota never got close. KG only had 19 points. The Sixers dominated Game 1 and are in good position to win Game 2 and take a 2-0 lead back to Philly. Here are what some people had to say.
T-WOLVES COACH KEVIN MCHALE
"This looked like the perfect oppurtunity to win right at home tonight. However, some of our players weren't playing as well as they should have. KG was double-teamed consistently and couldn't get his shot on tonight. Also we shot 3/19 from downtown and thats not us."
T-WOLVES GUARD SAM CASSELL (7 PTS):
"Damn why couldn't we win tonight? I know that people think I'm frustrated 'cuz of the trade rumors but we have a chance to win the freakin title. No one showed up tonight on our side. We just have to win the next game."
T-WOLVES FORWARD KEVIN GARNETT (19 PTS, 8 BLKS):
"Philly was all over me tonight. Every time I got the ball there were like two or three people around me. It was hard to get points 'cuz I had to rely on jump shots instead of dunking it. I liked the defense on my side, and if I play as well on O as i did on D, we should be able to win Game 2."
SIXERS HEAD COACH JIM O'BRIEN
"This was a big victory for us tonight and we had alot of players step up tonight with C-Webb in foul trouble. AI had only 16 points but 8 assists and 6 steals. Dalembert got a double-double and 3 blocks. However two players got injured
and hopefully they will be healthy for Game 2."
SIXERS GUARD ALLEN IVERSON (16 PTS, 8 ASSTS, 6 STLS):
"Today I didn't get all of the points, but I'm happy with my performance tonight. I helped out the team with good passes and played great D. Hopefully Willie and Marc can play game 2, but if they can't, other players will step up for us so we can win."
Sixers -Team- T-Wolves
40-Rebounds-42
23-Assists-14
10-Steals-6
6-Blocks-11
21-Fouls-13
11-TO's-13
44/87-FG-34/81
4/16-3PFG-3/19
14/18-FT-22/27
10-Off. Reb-12
30-Def. Reb-30
S. Dalembert- 10 pts, 13 rebs, 2 ast, 3 blks
M. Barnes- 6 pts, 2 rebs
R. Rogers- 2 pts
K. Korver- 11 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls
A. Iverson- 16 pts, 4 rebs, 8 asts, 6 stls
S. Jasikevicius- 6 pts, 1 reb
A. Iguodala- 13 pts, 1 reb, 5 asts
A. McKie- 2 rebs
C. Webber- 34 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts, 3 blks, 2 stls
M. Jackson- 8 pts, 5 rebs
W. Green- 1 reb, 1 ast
M. Olowokandi- 10 pts, 18 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl
K. Garnett- 19 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts, 8 blks, 2 stls, 7/16 FG
L. Sprewell- 27 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blk
F. Hoiberg- 9 pts, 2 rebs
S. Cassell- 7 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts
W. Sczerbiak- 7 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl
J. Thomas- 1 reb
T. Hudson- 7 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl
T. Hassell- 5 pts
E. Griffin 2 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blk, 1 stl
Game Photos
Player of the Game: Chris Webber
Iggy tells Griffin to move outta the way
Willie Green throw an alley-oop to Dalembert
INJURY REPORT
Willie Green
INJURY
RESULT
It is the Finals, so you want your best players even if they are hurt. However, Willie is a role player, so he will sit for Game 2 and maybe even more. Taking his place is Jamal Mashburn who is playing for the first time this year.
Remember, there are still spots left for the draft. See my previous post for more details.
-cwebbiverson
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