SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Wednesday, May 30 Hill disputes remark to reporters Associated Press MILWAUKEE -- The only time Tyrone Hill backed down Monday was when he tried to take back the quote of the day. "Series is over, guys," Hill said to no one in particular as he walked past Milwaukee reporters who used to cover him when he was with the Bucks. Pressed later in the locker room, Hill backtracked. "I just said, `Series is even,"' he insisted. "Let's keep it like that." Hill scored 14 points and set the tone early in the 76ers' 89-83 victory that tied the Eastern Conference finals at two games each as the best-of-seven series returns to Philadelphia for Game 5 Wednesday night. The power forward actually considered skipping Monday's game to fly to Cincinnati, where his diabetic father has been hospitalized after two strokes in the last two weeks. But Hill, who said his play has suffered because of his concern over his father's health, decided to stay because the 76ers already are without starting small forward, George Lynch, out with a broken foot, and reserve Matt Geiger, who has a quadriceps injury and hasn't played since Game 1. And of course, league MVP Allen Iverson is banged up, having missed Game 3. "We're so shorthanded and I didn't want to let the guys down," Hill said. Instead, he picked them up helping the Sixers regain the homecourt advantage in the black-and-blue series. "You only have one mom and one dad," Hill said. "It's been tough because you're playing one of the biggest games of your career. But at the same time, you're thinking about your father and your family. "It's hard to stay focused and it's been a hard 2 1/2 weeks for me." Iverson's return might have sparked the Sixers, but Hill's remaining in Milwaukee was huge, too. "They had a lot of guys step up tonight," Bucks forward Tim Thomas said. "Allen wasn't the only player out there for them tonight. He missed a lot of shots. It was guys like Aaron McKie, Dikembo Mutombo and Tyrone Hill that really hurt us out there tonight." Hill's dunk with nine minutes left was his last basket of the night and it ended a 9-0 run that had pulled Milwaukee within 72-71. "I'm more proud of the way we played defense," Hill said. And he was proud of taking the series back to Philadelphia tied instead of facing elimination. "Tyrone Hill gave them a good game," Bucks coach George Karl said. "His best of the series." Hill was 4-of-6 from the field in the first quarter and finished 7-of-14 with six rebounds. He was everywhere, setting picks, grabbing rebounds, frustrating the Bucks. With his team precariously close to falling behind 3-1 in the series, Hill simply didn't back down. Until afterward. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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