Thursday, December 2, 1999
Carter comes through,
Associated Press
helps Heat remain hotMIAMI -- Rookie guard Anthony Carter keeps picking up the slack for the injured Tim Hardaway and the Miami Heat continue to impress their opponents.
Hardaway was placed on the injured list before the game with a jammed knee but Carter, the former Hawaii star, had seven points and eight assists, with several key plays down the stretch to secure Miami's win over Philadelphia, 90-83.
"We didn't know what to expect from him, but he created and drove the ball for them," 76ers guard Aaron McKie said of Carter.
Miami's 12-3 record is the best after 15 games in franchise history. It's no coincidence that Alonzo Mourning, too, is off to his best start.
Mourning grabbed a huge offensive rebound and set up Carter for a layup, giving Miami an 84-80 lead with 2:32 left.
Then a turnover by Larry Hughes led to a Heat fastbreak that resulted in a long jumper by Jamal Mashburn, boosting Miami's lead to 86-80 with 2:06 remaining.
Bruce Bowen hit a free throw and Tyrome Hill made a turnaround shot to make it 86-83, but a behind-the-back pass by Carter to Mourning made it 88-83 with 32 seconds left.
"Guys like A.C. made plays," said P.J. Brown, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds, including some key defensive stops in the final few minutes.
"You can't be afraid to make a turnover," said Carter, who finished with a personal-best eight assists. "You have to be positive and play with confidence."
The 76ers were hurting, and even coach Larry Brown wasn't immune.
Brown let assistant coach John Calipari do the talking while Brown had the trainer tend to his ankle, which he injured playing soccer with his son.
"We just didn't have enough at the end," said Calipari, referring to Mourning's key offensive rebound and short jumper in the lane as the pivotal play. "Right now, we're taking the position to hold down the fort until the rest of the guys come back."
With forward Theo Ratliff sitting out with a sore left ankle and Allen Iverson and Matt Geiger on the injured list, Mourning had 28 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead the Heat to their fourth straight win, snapping Philadelphia's three-game winning streak without Iverson.
"I look at it like things can't get any worse," said Hill, who scored 20 points, but was unable to contain Mourning. "We're just looking for guys to fill the gaps. Eventually, we'll get everybody back and be a much stronger, fresher and deeper team."
McKie, compensating for the absence of Iverson, the NBA scoring leader, also scored 20 points to go with nine assists.
Consecutive blocks by Mourning sparked a 7-0 run, helping Miami to a 42-32 lead in the second quarter. But McKie scored seven during Philadelphia's 12-2 run that made it 44-44 at halftime.
In the end, Mourning was the difference.
"We couldn't get any open looks because of him," said Hughes, who scored 10 points. "He was going after everything in the paint, grabbing rebounds, blocking shots. He changed the game."
Brown managed to sum up the game after his session with the trainer.
"'Zo was just unbelievable," Brown said. "He got two unbelievable rebounds. He was phenomenal the entire game."
