PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- On a night where Allen Iverson clearly needed a second scorer, he got it from ... John Salmons and Willie Green?
The unheralded Salmons and Green propped up the offense until Iverson found his stroke with 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers opened the season with an 89-74 victory over the Miami Heat.
In the offseason, the 76ers traded for forward Glenn Robinson in an effort to help Iverson, who has led the team in scoring in each of his seven seasons and has the fifth-highest all-time scoring average at 27.0 points per game. But Robinson was suspended by the NBA for the first three games, forcing Iverson to again go it alone.
Salmons, a second-year swingman, made his second career start, replacing Robinson at small forward. He scored all of his career-high 10 points in the first half, helping Philadelphia get off to a great start.
"I still have a lot to learn because I haven't really played in a regular-season game," said Salmons, who made 4-of-6 shots and added five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. "It is a long season; I am trying to learn every game and learn every practice and try and get better."
Green, a second-round pick from Detroit, scored all of his eight points in a four-minute flurry of the second half. He made all four of his shots and was in the middle of a decisive fourth-quarter surge.
"I was a little nervous, but I think the preseason helped a lot," said Green, who played 13 minutes. "Today I was able to just build on that. I just tried to come in and give us a spark, give us a defensive presence out there, and I was able to do that."
Salmons and Green helped cover for Iverson, who missed 10 straight shots during one stretch. But he made three 3-pointers and a pair of layups in the final period as Philadelphia beat Miami for the fifth straight time.
"When I struggle for three quarters, all I think about is that last 12 minutes," Iverson said. "I just felt like it was my time to pick up my game. My teammates had been holding the fort down the previous three quarters. Once the quarter started, I was able to do some things offensively to widen the cushion."
Playing point guard for much of the decisive run, Iverson made just 9-of-25 shots, including 3-of-11 from the arc. But he added 11 assists and five steals.
The game marked a meeting of former Big Ten Conference coaches and long-time NBA assistants making their head coaching debuts. Philadelphia's Randy Ayers once coached Ohio State before taking over for Larry Brown after four years as an assistant. Miami's Stan Van Gundy once coached Wisconsin before taking over for Pat Riley after eight years on his staff.
"I was especially pleased with the young guys. I thought Salmons was solid and Willie Green gave us a nice lift off the bench in the second half," said Ayers, who never trailed in his first game. "There's going to be times during the year when we're going to need those two young guys to give us a spark."
"They were a lot more aggressive than we were at both ends of the floor, and that's really what it came down to," Van Gundy said.
Before abruptly resigning Friday, Riley did a nice job of rebuilding the Heat this summer, drafting guard Dwyane Wade and signing free agent forward Lamar Odom. But both players suffered injuries in the first half.
Wade looked very good in the opening half, when he scored 14 of his 18 points. But he suffered a hip injury in a collision and was hobbled in the second half. Odom had yet to take a shot when he suffered a sprained right ankle late in the first quarter that required X-rays. He did not return.
"I'll miss one or two games, then I'll be right back," Odom said. "I'm looking forward to rehab, getting stronger and then getting back out there. It will be all right."
What was not all right was Miami's sloppiness. With Wade - who is not a natural point guard - running the offense, Miami committed 19 turnovers to just 10 for Philadelphia. Salmons made a 3-pointer for the first basket of the season, giving Philadelphia the lead for good. Taking advantage of some sloppiness by the Heat, the Sixers led by as many as 12 points before settling for a 44-39 halftime advantage.
Iverson went scoreless in the third quarter, when Miami got within one point. Green had two baskets late in the period, keeping the lead at 65-62.
"I just struggled really badly tonight," Iverson said. "I thought I took a lot of bad 3-point shots. I only call them bad because I felt like I let them off the hook. I didn't drive the ball and try to get my shot off. All (the defender) had to do was put a hand up. I thought I shot way too many 3-pointers."
Iverson found Green with a lob, then drilled a 3-pointer and sneaked out for a layup. Green's driving scoop shot made it 74-62 before Aaron McKie capped the 12-0 burst with a 3-pointer.
"They (the starters) expect us to come in and just give them a quick blow," Green said. "I think that is what our jobs are right now as reserves - just come in, give (the starters) a quick blow and try to give a spark."
"I told him in the showers that he looked like a veteran out there," Iverson said. "He didn't look like a rookie at all."
Iverson made another 3-pointer and found Amal McCaskill for a basket, giving the Sixers their largest lead at 82-65 with 7:18 to play. The Heat got no closer than 10 points therafter.
Kenny Thomas scored 15 points and McKie and Derrick Coleman each added 10 for Philadelphia. Eddie Jones scored 15 points and Brian Grant added 13 for Miami.
