Kyle Korver

There's no question Kyle Korver can shoot the basketball. First-year 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks wants to see the third-year pro become more of a complete player, not just a three-point specialist. "Obviously, we know he can shoot the basketball," Cheeks said. "He's a little better basketball player than we give him credit for. He's learning how to utilize that talent a little better now. " Korver scored 16 points, including a pair of clutch threes in the last 3 minutes that helped seal the Sixers' 100-88 preseason victory over the San Antonio Spurs last night at the sold-out Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C. Korver, who also had eight rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes, shot 5-for-15 overall, 4-for-7 on threes.

This one should not have added up, but the 76ers picked an opportune time to play their most complete game of the season last night. Receiving a major boost from the return of Kyle Korver, the Sixers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 114-99, before 13,186 at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee had been 6-0 at home, including wins over Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas. The Sixers (4-9) snapped a three-game losing streak. They also entered the game having lost seven of their last eight.

Shortly before tip-off of the 76ers' 98-90 win against the Seattle SuperSonics on Monday, Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski felt compelled to talk about a popular subject: trade rumors regarding Andre Miller. Since Stefanski dealt Kyle Korver on Saturday to the Utah Jazz for Gordan Giricek and a future first-round pick, his phone has been ringing. The calls have come from reporters and NBA executives figuring that phase two of his plan will involve dealing Miller.

The blizzard of injuries experienced by the 76ers through the first two months of their season has led to some amazing numbers: 68 games missed by players who have spent time on the active roster; 13 different starting lineups; 4 games started as a group by the players (Allen Iverson, Eric Snow, Derrick Coleman, Glenn Robinson, Kenny Thomas) who were projected in the preseason to make up the starting five. Through it all, however, the Sixers have persevered. Young players who would have seen little or no playing time had all the veterans been healthy are proving themselves and gaining confidence.

In trying mightily to come up with their first win of this long trip through the Western Conference, the 76ers found it almost impossible to finish the deal. But even though they sank only four of 10 free throws in the final two minutes, the Sixers still managed to come up with a win, 98-95, over the Portland Trail Blazers last night at the Rose Garden, improving their mark on this seven-game journey to 1-2. Leading by 95-86 with 1 minute, 54 seconds to play, the Sixers saw the Trail Blazers go on a 9-1 run and draw to within a point, 96-95, on a basket in the paint by rookie Brandon Roy with 16.5 seconds to play.

Kyle Korver looked at the crowd of reporters around his area in the cramped visitors locker room at Continental Airlines Arena and smiled when he thought about the question he wasn't going to hear this night. The 76ers, who have recently tried to turn their habit of blowing fourth-quarter leads into an art form, had no such trouble last night thanks to the offensive fireworks delivered by Korver and Allen Iverson and - surprise - a strong defense. The result was a 107-95 victory over the New Jersey Nets in the Sixers' first meeting of the season against the team that was the consensus preseason pick to win the Atlantic Division.

When Kyle Korver and Andre Iguodala joined the 76ers one year apart out of college, they needed to learn how to play with a teammate who is a blur of boundless energy on the basketball court. They adjusted to Allen Iverson, but now they have to familiarize themselves with having another superstar, Chris Webber, in the lineup. Only this time, they don't have a lot of time to adapt, with 27 games remaining and the Sixers in desperate need of wins. "I think Chris opens up a lot of things for us," Korver said yesterday as the Sixers hustled to leave the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and beat the snowstorm on a flight to Milwaukee for tonight's game against the Bucks.

The trip into the heart of Texas was just what the 76ers needed to eradicate the bitter taste of a stunning loss to the lowly New Orleans Hornets the night before. This time, it was the Sixers who did the stunning. They did it against the Dallas Mavericks, a team with designs on an NBA championship. Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Sixers played suffocating defense and got 42 points from their bench to pick up a 93-89 victory before a sellout crowd of 20,432 at American Airlines Center.

Kyle Korver was admittedly bushed. He didn't hit the sack until 4 a.m. and was on the practice court less than eight hours later. A late-night flight after the 76ers' 92-86 win on Wednesday over New Orleans left the rookie guard begging for a few more Z's. If ever there was a day to beg off on an optional practice, this was it, but for Korver, there was no real option but to report to the Sixers' practice facility yesterday at the Philadelphia College...

In order for the 76ers to be competitive against more talented opponents - which constitute most of their foes - there have to be a few givens, such as Andre Iguodala playing consistently and Kyle Korver shooting accurately. Neither has happened for long stretches during the first week of the season, so the Sixers might feel fortunate to be 1-2. Both players realize that three games aren't much of a sample, but they also know that their play has to improve. On the stat sheet, Iguodala looks fine, averaging 20.3 points and shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

Do the New York Knicks want Jeremy Lin back? Team officials won't comment. Lin is coming off knee surgery and would come at a monstrous cost - thanks to an offer sheet from the Houston Rockets he signed. Teams have three days to match offer sheets for their restricted free agents, so the Rockets believe the clock expires at 11:59 Tuesday night. But the Knicks have never confirmed that they received the offer sheet on Saturday, so it's possible they have a different deadline in mind.

During the regular season, the 76ers won only eight games in which they both outrebounded and made more free throws than the opposition. Those are the building blocks of professional basketball, but they are not what the Sixers do particularly well. At their best, the Sixers win the turnover battles, limit the opponent's shooting percentage, and scoop up easy points with their fastbreak game. Being able to control the basket area - drawing contact to get free throws, and grabbing the contested rebounds - is what every coach would like his team to do. Doug Collins of the 76ers has a roster that isn't made for that kind of basketball, and he has to find other ways to win almost all the time.

The New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 99-93, Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden and remained in a tie with the 76ers for the seventh playoff spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Knicks and the 76ers, who defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, have the same records, so Thursday's games will determine their playoff futures. If the Knicks, who visit Charlotte, and the Sixers, who visit Detroit, finish with the same record, the Knicks own the tiebreaker because they beat the Sixers twice in their three meetings this season.

DON'T TRY to bring up the 1999 NCAA championship game to Elton Brand. If there is a smile on his face, it drops quicker than a Roy Halladay breaking ball. He still can't let go of the empty feeling he got when his Duke team dropped a 77-74 decision to the Connecticut Huskies in St. Petersburg, Fla. That's the competitive nature that consumes Brand, that has helped him to become an All-Star twice and post career numbers of 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds despite being an undersized big man in the NBA. He is the consummate professional, never late for a practice, never failing to hustle while he is on the court, always trying to win each and every battle that is presented to him during a practice or game.

Iverson still out Allen Iverson was inactive last night for the season opener between the host Memphis Grizzlies and his former team, the Detroit Pistons. The former league MVP for the 76ers is still recovering from a partially torn left hamstring he suffered early in the preseason. An MRI exam revealed the tear Oct. 7. Iverson has been unable to practice while rehabilitating the injury. Familiar ring for Kobe Kobe Bryant picked up his newest NBA championship ring before Tuesday night's opening win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Shooting isn't a secret recipe. The 76ers' best shooter, recently acquired Jason Kapono, will share his ingredients with anyone - feet at shoulder width, elbow in, hips squared to the rim - because, more than anyone, Kapono knows the separation point isn't knowing what to do, it's having done it hundreds of times a day for nearly two decades. The Sixers haven't had a guy like Kapono - a legitimate three-point threat - since they traded smooth-shooting Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz in December 2007.

Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate in the 2009 minicamp of the men's national team. Iguodala and Young, the 76ers' starting forwards last season, are two of 25 "rising NBA players" the governing body has invited. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo announced the selections yesterday. The minicamp will be held from July 22 to July 25 in Las Vegas, and will include practice sessions on July 23 and July 24 and the USA Basketball Showcase, an intrasquad game to be held July 25 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of Nevada-Las Vegas.

The 76ers needed a smooth-shooting outside threat, and the Toronto Raptors needed a tough, aggressive rebounder. So they swapped players: forward Reggie Evans, the inside banger, for swingman Jason Kapono, the smooth shooter. Kapono, 28, "will fit our style and extend the defense for us," Ed Stefanski, the Sixers' president and general manager, said yesterday in a teleconference, one day after the trade was announced. The Sixers finished the last two seasons last in the NBA in three-point-shooting percentage.

I N MY SMALL OPINION . . . Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski just turned the proverbial lemons into lemonade with the trade of forward Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors for sharpshooting forward Jason Kapono. Not to degrade Evans; in his two seasons with the Sixers, he was a high-energy player who provided grit and hard work off the bench. But skill-wise, Evans didn't bring much to the table. Averaging 3.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 79 games last season, Evans wasn't exceptional at anything in particular.

Like he did on most days for five years, Kyle Korver walked into the small gym at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine wearing sweats and carrying his basketball sneakers. Only yesterday, those sweats were embroidered not with the logo of the 76ers, but that of the Utah Jazz, and those sneakers no longer scuffed the floor of the Wachovia Center, but that of Salt Lake City's EnergySolutions Arena. Korver called the feeling "very bizarre," adding that he had never before seen the visitors' locker room at the Wachovia Center.