Mutombo Fits Right In as 76ers Rout Pistons

Dikembe Mutombo looked as if he had been playing with the Philadelphia 76ers for years instead of hours.

Mutombo had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots in his debut with Philadelphia as the 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons, 99-78, Friday night.

“He changed the whole game with his defense and rebounding,” said Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson, who had 43 points and 10 rebounds.

Mutombo was traded along with Roshown McLeod from Atlanta to Philadelphia on Thursday for Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed, Toni Kukoc and Pepe Sanchez in the most-significant deal of the season.

After the game, Mutombo looked relieved as he sat with ice packs surrounding both knees.

He flew from Atlanta to Philadelphia late Thursday night, had a physical at 7 a.m., then arrived in Detroit at about 5 p.m. Friday.

“I need some sleep,” Mutombo said. “But really, I’m so excited to be with this group of guys. They’re all about winning and we have a great coach.”

Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown was glad that Mutombo was able to provide a lot of the same things as Ratliff.

“He rebounded and defended like he has his whole career,” Brown said. “I thought he was terrific . . . I think it’s pretty remarkable what he was able to do under those circumstances.”

Detroit’s Jerry Stackhouse scored 22 points. Chucky Atkins had 12 points.

Mutombo started and played 36 minutes. He made seven of 12 shots and three of four free throws.