Sixers pick L.A. clean

Allen Iverson then drove right on the ensuing play. He stopped quickly, drilled a baseline jumper, then yelled "Whoa!" right in front of the Los Angeles Lakers' bench.

Whoa, indeed.

Right then, at that moment, what was expected to be a coronation of the Lakers became the making of a potential series for the ages.

Brushing aside the Lakers' mystique - 19 straight wins, and 11 straight playoff wins - Iverson sparked the 76ers to an improbable and shocking 107-101 overtime victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night at the Staples Center.

The 76ers' franchise player erupted for a game-high 48 points, scoring seven straight at one point in the pivotal overtime period

With the win, the Sixers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday night in Los Angeles. The win gave the Sixers home-court advantage, beginning with Game 3 on Sunday at the First Union Center.

But the Sixers wisely didn't treat this win as having any more validity than it deserved.

"We came in here expecting to win," said Iverson, who is celebrating his 26th birthday today. "We know who we are and what we can do. Everybody expected us to come in here and get swept.

"That's like a slap in the face to all of us and everything we've accomplished all year. We're not going to act like we've won this series already. We still have business to take care of. "

The win negated a 44-point, 20-rebound explosion from Lakers' center Shaquille O'Neal. It punctuated the disappearance of former Lower Merion High standout Kobe Bryant, who struggled mightily throughout the evening

Dikembe Mutombo added 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who also received 13 points from Snow, including a clutch jumper with 10.5 seconds remaining in the overtime session. Matt Geiger gave the Sixers 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

"We didn't come here for moral victories," said Iverson, who appeared at a postgame news conference wearing an Eagles jersey. "We came here to win a championship. "

The second half was a tit-for-tat battle, with the Sixers running away with matters one minute, the Lakers doing the same the next.

Iverson erupted for 30 points in the first half. For the game, he shot 18 for 41 from the field and 9 for 9 from the free-throw line. He added six assists and five steals.

O'Neal, hit just 10 for 22 from the free-throw line. Bryant shot just 7 for 22 from the field and finished with 15 points.

"They played excellent defense," Bryant said. "They did an excellent job of pressuring our backcourt and not letting us get into our game. We'll go back to the drawing board, congratulate them on winning Game 1 and we'll be back for Game 2, that's all. "

Ultimately, the waning moments would determine both teams' fate for one game.

"We've got so many basketball experts," Iverson said. "But the only guys that know are the guys out on the floor. We've got heart. We're going to play with that first, play with the talent, second.

"You expect people to bet on the Lakers. There's some broke people out there. I'm just glad nobody bet their life on it. Because they'd definitely be dead right now. "

By the time 5:38 remained in the third quarter, the unthinkable was happening. The Sixers led, 73-58, looking to snatch home advantage away from the Lakers. That awakened O'Neal, however, which is usually a very bad thing to do.

O'Neal scored on a slam off a spin move. A hook shot followed. Then another slam and a layup and, before the Sixers knew what hit them, the Lakers were on a 15-4 run, ending the third quarter down by only 79-73.

Eventually, that run would extend to 19-6, pulling the Lakers within 79-77.

A competitive game was in session.