Mutombo Is Everywhere in a Tense 76ers’ Victory

At the bottom of the official box score, the Philadelphia 76ers listed a brand new stat: Mutombo--seven intimidations.

Mutombo grabbed 18 rebounds, blocked five shots and altered plenty of others Wednesday night, more than making up for another poor shooting night from Allen Iverson as the 76ers beat the Miami Heat, 79-69, at Philadelphia.

The tense, defensive-minded game ended with the fans taunting Miami Coach Pat Riley, who angered 76er management by questioning their loyalty a day earlier for their trade of Theo Ratliff for Mutombo.

The 76ers beat the Heat for the third time this season, and Riley got a good look at what a difference Mutombo can make. Mutombo’s presence helped force Miami center Brian Grant to shoot one for 13 and forward Anthony Mason to go one for eight.

Meanwhile, Iverson followed an eight-for-27 effort on Monday by attempting 27 shots and missing 21. He still finished with 27 points by going 14 of 18 from the line.

Eddie Jones led Miami with 22 points.

Philadelphia snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided its first three-game slide of the season.

Meanwhile, Riley took back his comments about the 76ers’ loyalty.

“I will firmly and without a doubt take the shoe out of my mouth,” Riley said. “It takes a lot of guts to make a trade like that.”

Riley had criticized the 76ers on Friday, saying, “I think they sent a message about loyalty. Even though they are probably a very loyal franchise, a guy breaks his wrist and he’s traded.”

“But I can understand the temptation of the present moment. It would be the equivalent of me trading [Alonzo Mourning] for Dikembe, or something like that.”

Mourning is out for the season battling kidney disease.

Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown had found the criticism “remarkable.” Philadelphia owner Pat Croce found it “awful,” and wondered how Riley could “stoop so low.”

Orlando 97, Phoenix 91--Tracy McGrady nearly had his first career triple-double and Darrell Armstrong scored four crucial points in the final 1:21 at Phoenix as the Magic snapped the Suns’ four-game winning streak.

McGrady had 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

The Suns, who started their streak by ending the Magic’s nine-game run in Orlando on Feb. 20, were noticeably slower without Shawn Marion, sidelined by a concussion sustained in a fall late in Sunday’s game against Utah.

Jason Kidd scored 16 points and tied his career high with 16 rebounds for Phoenix.

Sacramento 122, Golden State 101--Predrag Stojakovic scored 24 points at Oakland to help the Kings set a Sacramento record for road wins in a season.

The victory was their 15th on the road this year, the most since moving from Kansas City and the most overall since the 1982-83 season.

Indiana 99, Milwaukee 86--Reggie Miller scored 24 points as the Pacers overcame Lindsey Hunter’s five fourth-quarter three-pointers for the victory at Indianapolis.

Charlotte 91, New Jersey 88--Jamal Mashburn made only five of 20 shots, but scored 10 of his 23 points over the final 1:51 to lead the Hornets to their fifth consecutive victory at Charlotte, N.C.

Minnesota 111, Detroit 100--Terrell Brandon scored 23 points at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves won for only the second time in their last seven games.

Kevin Garnett had a triple-double, adding 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Minnesota.

Toronto 95, Atlanta 88--Vince Carter scored 32 points and Antonio Davis added 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Raptors never trailed in a victory at Atlanta.

Houston 95, Chicago 78--Steve Francis scored 21 points at Chicago as the Rockets, who shot 51% from the field, moved to 12-0 when making over 50% as a team.

Utah 101, Vancouver 83--Karl Malone scored 21 points and Olden Polynice had a season-high 15 as the Jazz won at Salt Lake City.

Around the League

Seattle SuperSonic Coach Nate McMillan reached agreement on a four-year contract extension worth about $12 million, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. McMillan got the job Nov. 26 when Paul Westphal was fired. . . . Guard Vernon Maxwell, out of the NBA since being released by Philadelphia in December, was signed for the rest of the season by the Dallas Mavericks. . . . The Minnesota Timberwolves signed free-agent guard Felipe Lopez, one day after waiving veteran swingman Todd Day. Lopez was waived by the Wizards last week.