PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26 -- The same bandaged right hand Jarvis Hayes used to send the Washington Wizards into overtime with an off-balance buzzer-beating three-pointer, the same hand he then used to tie the game late in the extra period, was also the same hand behind an ill-fated inbounds pass in the waning seconds Friday.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson intercepted Hayes's pass, then drove to the basket for the clinching points with two-tenths of a second left, sending the Wizards to a painful 116-114 defeat.
Andre Iguodala knocks the ball away from the Wizards' Antawn Jamison (27 points, 15 rebounds) in the 1st half.
(Miles Kennedy -- AP)
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WHO'S NEXT?
at Toronto
Tomorrow, 3
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PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26 -- Mike O'Koren was once Eddie Jordan's teammate with the New Jersey Nets. He worked with Jordan on the same Nets coaching staff for four more years. And he was the first man Jordan hired when he took over as coach of the Washington Wizards.
"Only Eddie could get me out of New Jersey," said O'Koren, a native of the Garden State.
With Jordan hospitalized because of a blood clot in his left leg, O'Koren stepped in for his "mentor" Friday as the Wizards (6-5) lost to the 76ers, 116-114 in overtime. O'Koren also will coach the team in Toronto on Sunday. Jordan is expected to return Dec. 1 against New Jersey at MCI Center.
Although O'Koren filled in when Jordan was ejected during a 115-103 loss against the Nets on Jan. 15, he said, "That's nothing like this." An animated sideline patroller, O'Koren jokingly described his coaching style as "scatter-brained basketball," but he had the Wizards in position to win.
"Coach Mike did a great job," guard Larry Hughes said. "He has a fight in him we all like. We all know that he brings that intensity. If you don't have your head coach, he's a good guy to go out and fight for."
O'Koren seemed to take the Wizards' last-second loss with no small amount of heartache.
"Eddie and I are very close. He's taught me all I know about coaching," he said. "I spoke to him before, and he's doing a lot better. If we could have pulled it out, he'd be feeling better." . . .
Hughes's streak of nine straight games with a steal came to an end against the 76ers. Allen Iverson's lone steal, meantime, extended his streak to 31, dating from last season. Hughes had only praise for Iverson. "For a guy that steals the ball, that's like the perfect pass to go get," said Hughes, who played with Iverson for a little more than one season in Philadelphia. "That's what he does. That's who I learned it from."
Iverson's layup was just his second game-winning basket in the NBA. His first came earlier this month against Indiana, when he beat the Pacers in overtime with a jumper at the buzzer Nov. 12.
-- Michael Lee
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After pregame introductions, the Wizards gathered on the court to say a prayer for Coach Eddie Jordan, who was back in a Washington hospital because of a blood clot in his left leg. Top assistant Mike O'Koren assumed Jordan's duties and with 3.3 seconds left and the score tied at 114, the Wizards had possession with an opportunity to win their fourth game in a row.
But Iverson fought through Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas and leaped to steal Hayes's pass, then sprinted about 50 feet down the floor to hit the deciding layup. "It's tough," said Hayes, who has been playing through a sprained thumb he injured against Toronto on Tuesday. "God Almighty, it's tough. I made a costly error."
O'Koren drew up the play for Arenas, who won the previous meeting between the teams last season on a three-pointer. Iverson said he knew Arenas would get the ball and that Hayes looked "panicky" when he made the pass. Arenas was on the floor as Iverson made his dash to the basket and claims that Iverson fouled him on the play.
"I told the ref, 'They have a foul to give. He's going to overplay and if he can't get the steal, he's going to foul,' " said Arenas, who scored 23 points. Iverson "went through me to get the ball, but of course, they're not going to call it and have somebody win a game off a free throw. They let him get the ball and see if he can make it in two seconds, which he did. You can't do nothing about it."
Iverson, who scored a game-high 28 points with 13 assists, then ran into the stands, headband bobbing as he celebrated and embraced a handful of the 17,516 at Wachovia Center. Knowing the current state of the league following the brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons' fans eight days ago, Iverson said he thought his reason for leaving the floor was a good one.
"I hope I don't get fined or suspended," Iverson said after he hit just his second game-winning shot in nine seasons. "Everything was electric in here. It was one of those games you remember."
The Wizards trailed 91-82 with 6 minutes 11 seconds left in regulation but Arenas and Larry Hughes brought them back with a 13-2 run. The rally started when Hughes lobbed the ball to Arenas, who caught it, got hit in the arm by Philadelphia's Kyle Korver (26 points) and sank a layup in the same motion.
Hughes gave the Wizards a short-lived, two-point lead with a powerful two-handed dunk. He later went underneath the basket to make a reverse layup while getting fouled. "We don't get overtime. We don't get anything without [Hughes], the way he played down the stretch," O'Koren said. Hughes scored 16 of his 20 points after the third quarter, and added 12 rebounds and nine assists.
The Wizards were down 103-100 with 9.4 seconds left in regulation following a pair of missed free throws by Philadelphia center Marc Jackson. Hughes dribbled up the court and gave up the ball to Hayes, standing just beyond the three-point arc. He took a look at the clock. "It was two seconds when I got the ball and I knew I had just one more dribble," Hayes said. "I tried to jump and get square when I got in the air. I did and it went in."
Hayes's accuracy, however, betrayed him in the end. He walked off following overtime staring down at the floor.
"Those games that end like that always hurt the most," Hughes said. "Either we score and win the game or we just take it into [a second] overtime. You always hate to lose with no time on the clock."
Forward Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 27 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and Brendan Haywood had his first double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
