Answer Key To Brown Milestone

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson nearly delivered coach Larry Brown his 1,000 professional victory all by himself.

Iverson had 20 points and four steals in the first quarter and finished with 42 points as the 76ers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-93 Friday night.

"I'm glad to be here with him because not many coaches at this level reach that point," said Iverson, who shot 16-for-31 from the field and scored more than 40 points for the third straight game and for the 12th time this season. "Being around him, I can see how he has done it."

In the three games since the All-Star break, Iverson is averaging 43.3 points. And he sparked the big Sixers run in the first quarter.

"The little kid (Iverson) got us off to a great start," Brown said. "The thing that surprises me is the little things he does every night."

Tyrone Hill had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Nazr Mohammed added 10 points for the 76ers, who outrebounded the Clippers 51-35 and won their third straight.

Los Angeles, which trailed by 21 points in the first quarter, cut into Philadelphia's lead in the third quarter when a layup by Piatkowski with 5:47 left made it 63-57. But the Sixers regained a double-digit advantage and led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter.

"We played terrible in the first quartr, it was embarrassing," said Piatkowski. "You get down by that many it's tough to get back, especially to a good team."

Philadelphia scored the game's first 11 points. The Sixers' lead reached 21 late in the first when a jumper by Iverson made it 35-14. The Clippers did cut the deficit to 10, 55-45, at halftime.

Brown, in his fourth season with the Sixers, is 1,000-707 when his NBA totals are added to his ABA record with Carolina and Denver. He also has coached Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana. He ranks third on the career list behind Lenny Wilkens of the Toronto Raptors and Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.

Brown also coached at UCLA and Kansas and has a career coaching record of 1,176-768.

"It's a thrill for sure, not a lot of people get the opportunity to be in the league as long as I have," Brown said after receiving a standing ovation from the crowd during a short post-game ceremony. "But what's more gratifying is that there are a bunch of guys here who play the right way."

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