NBA Eastern Conference Finals 2001: Philadelphia @ Milwaukee, Game Six (Pt. 1)



Ray Allen

With all the Miami Heat hype, people forget that there was a Big Three just ten years ago, because we are amnesiacs.

There have actually been several "Big Threes" in NBA history who aren't remembered by that name, except by old timers. The McHale-Parish-Bird era in Boston comes to mind as one of the all-time best trios.

More recently, before LeBron, Wade, and Bosh in Miami... and even before the Boston Celtics glued Allen, Garnett and Pierce together in the mid-Aughts... the Milwaukee Bucks did it.

 

They even used a piece that the C's would later grab: Ray Allen. With "Big Dog" Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell, the trio was dubbed, yes, The Big Three.

The 2001 Bucks meet up with Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers, in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Allen Iverson

Iverson carried Philly's B-minus/C-plus squad through the '00-01 season, scoring in clumps and dazzling fans in his fifth season. "The Answer" averaged 31 points a game over the regular season, adding 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals (along with about 3 turnovers). He raised his scoring by a point in these playoffs, and assists by almost two.

Game Six finds the Sixers leading the series 3-2, and rolling into Milwaukee after a comeback in Game Five.

So it is a typical match-up, familiar to long-time sports fans, between a high-scoring threat who swallows the basketball like a black hole... and a group of slightly-lesser talents who are still excellent...