There’s No Title for Having Heart

Perhaps the Philadelphia 76ers are finally realizing that it isn’t all about heart and playing tough, that sooner or later the NBA Finals get down to winning games.

They felt pretty good about snatching Game 1 from the Lakers at Staples Center, and considered their fourth-quarter charge there in a Game 2 loss to be a moral victory because they scared the Lakers.

Well, now they’re only two moral victories away from losing this series because they could not take advantage of Shaquille O’Neal fouling out with 2:21 remaining in Game 3 here.

Coach Larry Brown talked about how proud he was of his team after Sunday’s game.

Allen Iverson said: “We aren’t supposed to even be that close, so obviously we’re out there doing something right.”

And: “We’re showing a lot of character, a lot of guts to go out and compete with everything that’s going on out there.”

And: “We haven’t got blown out one time. Every fourth quarter, we’re in the game.”

But they have not put the ball in the basket when it counted, when it’s “for the money,” as Iverson likes to say.

History doesn’t acknowledge effort. There are no banners for heart. The Lakers led the 76ers at halftime in every game of the 1983 Finals. It is officially remembered as a Philadelphia sweep--and the city’s last pro championship.

Brown points out that he’s trying to win a championship with guys such as Eric Snow, Raja Bell, Kevin Ollie and Todd MacCulloch on the court. But don’t forget the 76ers once had such known offensive entities as Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes and Toni Kukoc on their team and traded them.

Brown and General Manager Billy King made a conscious decision to surround Iverson with a bunch of scrappy players who will work hard on defense and not complain when Iverson takes 40 shots.

It’s a unique and daring plan, building a team around a 6-foot guard. Not exactly the classic NBA blueprint for success. Isiah Thomas’ Detroit Pistons are the only championship team that was even close to this model. But this 76er unit has clicked, Brown has them executing his plan to nearly maximum effect and they advanced to the NBA Finals.

A broken bone in George Lynch’s foot has deprived the 76ers of his services for the first three games of this series, but otherwise this is the roster they wanted--so they shouldn’t complain about it.

And it wasn’t the celestial duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant who beat them in crunch time. It has been Derek Fisher and Robert Horry.

The 76ers had four chances to tie the score or take the lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes of Game 3. Here’s what they did: Aaron McKie missed a three-pointer, Snow committed a turnover, Iverson missed one of two free throws, Ollie let an Iverson pass slip through his hands and Iverson elected to go for a quick layup (that missed) instead of shooting a three-pointer when the 76ers had the ball trailing, 94-91, with 21 seconds remaining.

“I look at it like . . . one shot here, one shot there, a few free throws there, one defensive stop, one rebound, it goes the other way,” McKie said. “But it didn’t happen that way. We dug a hole for ourselves, so we’ve got to--as always--find a way to get ourselves out.”

The Lakers would be fools not to realize that a two-games-to-one lead against the 76ers means about as much as a 10-point lead in any game against them.

Like the cheesesteak I just ate for lunch, the 76ers will be around for a while.

They’re still in the series even though they have been outshot (46%-43%) and outrebounded (95-88) in the first three games and have had almost no production from starting forwards Tyrone Hill and Jumaine Jones.

“They’re a feisty team,” O’Neal keeps saying, which is about as much acknowledgment as he’ll give an opponent. And he has much respect for Iverson.

Bryant said: “I think you have to give Philadelphia a lot of credit. They play hard. They’re very competitive. When you play with your effort and you play with your heart, it’s going to keep you in a lot of ballgames.”

They have the Lakers’ respect. They have gained a new appreciation from the national media and fans. So they can put all of that talk aside now.

They’re playing for the Larry O’Brien trophy, not for credit.

The Lakers were talking tough after Sunday’s victory. The synopsis of their postgame comments could be, O’Neal: Dikembe Mutombo’s a flopping baby. Bryant: Shut up with your ‘heart’ chatter.

O’Neal even offered an additional challenge Monday: “Play me.”

Mano a mano, no flopping.

They might have talked themselves into a Game 4 loss. The 76ers and their wild fans have even more reason to come at them full throttle Wednesday night.

But the Lakers have a reason for their bravado. They have one championship and are sniffing at another.

The 76ers have their hearts. However, they have found out that doesn’t always equate to victories.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com