McKie’s Triple-Double Propels the 76ers Again

Aaron McKie had better be careful or he might lose his job as sixth man.

McKie had his second consecutive triple-double and Allen Iverson scored 21 points Wednesday night as the Philadelphia 76ers ended a four-game home losing streak with a 98-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

“It feels great,” said McKie, starting in place of injured point guard Eric Snow. “I’ve come so close on several occasions. But winning games is more important than anything.”

The 76ers, coming off an impressive three-game road sweep that included victories at Utah and Sacramento, won their fourth in a row and improved to 22-8--the NBA’s best record.

Jason Terry scored 17 points for the Hawks. Brevin Knight, acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, missed his first five shots and had six points and seven assists.

Detroit 107, Dallas 104--Jerry Stackhouse scored three of his 33 points on free throws in the final 26 seconds and Joe Smith had season highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds as the Pistons won at Dallas in the Mavericks’ first game with Donnie Nelson replacing his ailing father as coach.

Don Nelson decided to sit this one out about three hours before tipoff to rest up for prostate cancer surgery this morning. He watched on television from his office, then left for his surgery in Utah. Nelson is expected to be gone for six to eight weeks.

Portland 102, Indiana 86--Bonzi Wells scored a season-high 27 points and the Trail Blazers turned the game into a rout with a 14-0 third-quarter run at Portland.

Scottie Pippen added a season-high 24 points and matched his season high with nine assists for Portland, which won its sixth in a row.

Milwaukee 88, Cleveland 83--Ray Allen scored 25 points and had a career-high six of Milwaukee’s 17 steals at Milwaukee as the Bucks won for the 15th time in 19 games. It is the Bucks’ best stretch since starting out the 1990-91 season 25-8.

New York 100, Boston 91--The Knicks avenged their last defeat, using a late 11-3 run and getting 25 points from Allan Houston to defeat the Celtics at Boston. New York has won five in a row since losing to the Celtics on Dec. 21.

Vancouver 99, Charlotte 89--Michael Dickerson led all five starters in double figures with 22 points at Vancouver, Canada, as the Grizzlies recorded their first victory over the Hornets in franchise history.

The Grizzlies also ended a five-game losing streak.

Denver 111, Golden State 100--Antonio McDyess had 25 points and 17 rebounds for his sixth consecutive double-double as the Nuggets won at Oakland for the first time since April 22, 1995.

Around the League

Matt Geiger of the Philadelphia 76ers will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks. . . . Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings and Jerry Stackhouse of the Detroit Pistons were each fined $7,500 for their actions in recent games. Webber was fined for verbally abusing an official and refusing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected in the first quarter of the Kings’ overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. Stackhouse was fined for failing to proceed directly to the locker room and verbally abusing an official after the Pistons’ loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday. . . . Grant Hill of the Orlando Magic underwent bone-graft surgery on his left ankle, with the team and doctors predicting a full recovery. It will take about five months for the ankle to heal, said Joe Billings, the Magic team physician.