Nov. 26, 2004
Allen Iverson during his Sixers tenure was always being accused of rarely hitting a game-winning shot. He hit many clutch shots, but walk-off game winners were not all over his resume.
On Nov. 26, 2004, Iverson made sure fans could no longer debate his ability to win a game at the buzzer.
The score was tied at 114 in overtime at the then-Wachovia Center. The Wizards were inbounding the ball in front of their own bench with 3.3 seconds on the clock. Jarvis Hayes was doing the inbounding, looking for Gilbert Arenas.
Iverson cut in front of Arenas, stole the ball, and scored the lay-up in front of the Sixers bench with two-tenths of a second left on the clock. That Iverson was quick enough to go that distance in 3.1 seconds was never in question.
No. 3 proceeded to cup his ear, his trademark gesture, and jump into the courtside seats that faced the Sixers bench.
I had done sideline reporting during that game and, normally, we would have talked to Iverson after such heroics. But I was also hosting the postgame show that night, and when the Wizards got the ball with 3.3 seconds left, the game producer said I could head to the studio.
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By the time I got upstairs, the game was over, and all I saw on TV was Iverson in the crowd.
A.I. scored a game-high 28 points to go with 13 assists in the two-point OT win. And in a season where he would lead the league with 180 steals, that was the only pass he broke up that night.
I have seen that game-winner many times -- just not in person.
