Surprise, Surprise!!! 76ers Win Game One.

It's a good thing that the 76ers didn't listen to the media. If they had, last night's game would have been over in the middle of the first quarter when LA went on a 19-4 run to open up a twelve point lead. It's a good thing Allen Iverson didn't listen when the media said he needed to shoot 50 percent for Philly to have a chance to win. If he had, he might have folded when he started off missing six of his first eight shots with two turnovers. The 76ers have shown us, by winning the first game of the 2001 NBA Championship Series, that we are in for a dogfight. The Lakers could win four games to one but none of them will be easy. Maybe heart does have a place in professional sports...

The game turned a few times late in the game. The first was with 8:44 left in the game. The 76ers had the ball and a seven point lead. A bad pass and steal by Tyron Lue led to the Laker comeback as they went on a 13-4 run and took a 94-92 lead with two minutes left. Eric Snow would make a layup for the only points in the last 1:57 of the fourth quarter.

The overtime was really two overtimes: the first two minutes and the last two minutes. In the first two minutes the Lakers scored five straight to open up a 99-94 lead. They would score but two points the rest of game. The Lakers run of five points ended with an offensive foul on Robert Horry. NBC never showed the foul on replay, but it was obvious that it was the turning point in the overtime. If LA scores they have a seven point lead with two minutes remaining. Instead Raja Bell puts in a layup and Iverson goes on a seven point scoring binge that gives Philly a four point lead with 48 seconds left. Bryant puts in a layup to close it to within two, but the 76ers ran off 23 seconds before Eric Snow hit a running jumper to seal the deal with ten seconds left.

Lue who? Where did this guy come from? I'm guessing we will see a lot more of him. He made life a nightmare for Allen Iverson, keeping the ball out of Iverson's hands for much of the fourth quarter. His problem is he will need to come in and get a blow at some point. Phil should make sure that Tyronn gets some rest, because he can't stay with Iverson for a full game. You would like to slow him down at the beginning and be in his face at the end. Every team may be looking for a Lue clone to stay with Iverson next season.

Raja Bell scored five points for the 76ers... in the entire regular season. Before game six of the Conference Finals, Bell had a total of twenty minutes played in the playoffs. He has been instrumental in the last two games. It's ironic that you find the key to your team at the end of the playoffs. Bell has scored 16 points and played 28 minutes in the last two wins. Bell scored the bucket that got Philly back in the overtime and then got the assist on Eric Snows jumper with ten seconds left. He may get more big minutes in the series.

In fact the series may hinge on Lue and Bell. The stars will get their minutes and points, but Lue and Bell MUST perform for their teams to be successful. Lue has to semi-contain Iverson. He has to make him work for his shots. Bell has to contribute to give the 76ers another usable guy off the bench. Playing the Lakers is a physically draining experience and you need to be solid seven or eight guys deep.

Why are we surprised about Philadelphia? The have the MVP, the defensive player of the year, the sixth man of the year, and coach of the year. That's a pretty dominant lineup for us all to be predicting a sweep. To be honest, I now have no idea who will win the series. All Philly has to do now is split six games with the Lakers. They are very capable of this. My guess is Lakers in seven, but my heart may be with the Sixers in six.