To have a “double-nickel” game is a great feat in the NBA but doing it in the Playoffs is a feat not many players reach. In fact there are no current NBA players, including Kobe, that have come close with only a small handful even reaching 50 points. But on April 20th, 2003 Allen Iverson joined the 5-5 clube along with names like Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley. The amazing thing is that he had to score 20 in the fourth quarter to reach 55 and help his team with the win.
Wearing his unloved Reebok I3 Playoff II Iverson took it to the Charlotte Hornets in the first game of the 2003 Eastern Conference 1st round series. And for as much as people sometimes complain Iverson was a ball-hog and inefficient he had a very analytic friendly game. He made 21 of 32 shots from the floor, going 3-5 from beyond the arch and hitting 10 of 11 free throws. He also dished out 8 dimes while only turning the ball over 4 times while playing 47 minuets during the game. Larry Brown would go on to say it was A.I.’s “best ever, by far.”
“The only player I’ve ever seen play like that was Michael Jordan,” Derrick Coleman said. Now that’s a compliment.
Nick Engvall
Aaron Nojima