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Iguodala hits game-winning shot at the buzzer

Dec 23, 2007 - 4:52 AM By Jason Smith PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) - Andre Iguodala's game-winning 20-footer as time expired lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to a 99-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum on Saturday.

Iguodala dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 23 points in the period on 7-of-9 shooting to help Philadelphia erase an 11-point second-half deficit.

"I'd gotten a good rhythm going there in the fourth, and from there, the basket gets bigger," Iguodala said. "The shot felt good going up."

With five seconds remaining, Iguodala received the in-bounds pass before knocking down the winning jumper over Mike Miller just above the free-throw area.

"You've just got to keep playing through it. The game isn't over until the clock reaches triple zeros," said Iguodala, who went just 2-of-12 through first three quarters.

"It wasn't going for me in the first three, so I just tried to continue to finish out the game, and our bench players did a great job of getting us back and giving me an opportunity to finish the game."

Andre Miller scored a season-high 29 points and Kyle Korver added 14 off the bench for the Sixers, who shot 44 percent (38-of-86) from the floor.

"I thought the whole game we were on our heels," 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "I thought our bench got us going. The latter part of the third quarter we started chipping away and chipping away, and then in the fourth quarter, we got some more. Fortunately for us, Iguodala makes that final shot to win the game for us."

In his second game back after missing four straight due to a jammed big toe, Pau Gasol poured in 17 of his 31 points in second half in helping the Grizzlies create a 65-54 lead with 5:37 left in the third.

Iguodala nailed a turnaround jumper, then hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Philadelphia its first lead of the game, 76-74, with 9:50 to go.

Louis Williams converted a layup and Iguodala followed with a finger roll to cap an impressive 11-0 run to start the fourth and make it 80-74.

"It was a tough fourth quarter. It was disappointing because we'd had a few good quarters," Memphis guard Mike Miller said.

But the Grizzlies battled back on the shoulders of Gasol, who tied the contest at 97-97 with a tough basket against Samuel Dalembert to setup the final shot.

"Glad to see it from (Gasol) after being injured and banged up and such, and having to deal with different things all year," first-year Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said.

"That's the Pau we all know. He put on a great show against a great shot blocker (in Dalembert). I'm happy for him, but sorry that it had to go for naught."