Kukoc starts life as a 76er

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Toni Kukoc saw plenty of ovations in Chicago. It's just that not many of them were for him.

After sharing the spotlight with Michael, Scottie, Dennis and their Zen-master coach, Kukoc was the main attraction Friday night. In his first game for an NBA team other than the Bulls, Kukoc led the Philadelphia 76ers to their biggest victory of the season, 104-75 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

''It's going to be a little bit of an adjustment for me,'' said Kukoc, who had 11 points and four assists and electrified his new building with a deft display of passing and shooting.

''I mean, seven years in the same place, doing the same things, you get comfortable.''

Actually, Kukoc looked awfully comfortable in his new surroundings from the moment he stepped on the court.

''If he plays like this every night, I think it becomes contagious,'' Sixers coach Larry Brown said.

The 6-foot-11 swingman, acquired from the Bulls on Wednesday, brought down the house with a windmill finger-roll off a 60-foot bounce pass from Allen Iverson. The sensational basket gave Philadelphia a 30-point lead, 92-62.

As far as Brown was concerned, that wasn't even Kukoc's best play of the night. Brown, a former point guard who has been preaching pass-first, shoot-second for decades, was ecstatic with Kukoc's unselfishness.

''If you pass the ball and move yourself, it's a pretty simple game,'' Brown said.

Kukoc came off the bench in the first quarter, made 5-of-7 shots from the field and got burned a couple of times on defense -- though nobody seemed to mind. He got another ovation from the crowd of 20,383 when he went to the bench with 4:39 left.

After the game, his locker was packed with reporters and TV cameras -- to the delight of Iverson, who had 19 points on 8-for-23 shooting.

''That's the best thing about the whole trade,'' Iverson said, gesturing toward Kukoc's locker as he hustled out of the locker room. ''I'm loving it already.''

Kukoc, who once shared a circus-like locker room with Dennis Rodman, didn't mind, either.

''Actually, I did have a great time there,'' Kukoc said. ''I would just run through the room, get a shower and get out of there. This is a little bit strange for me.''

Shawn Kemp led the injury-depleted Cavs with 17 points, but shot 4-for-13. Cleveland, playing without injured starters Brevin Knight, Bob Sura and Cedric Henderson, suffered its second-worst loss of the season. The only worse night was a 48-point loss in Indiana on Dec. 10.

Kemp, whose team is fighting to avoid a last-place finish, said time will tell how much of a playoff threat Kukoc makes the Sixers.

''They'll have to prove it,'' Kemp said. ''But it definitely makes them better, if that's what you're asking.''

Kukoc received an ovation when he entered the game with 3:36 left in the first quarter, a rare gesture in a notoriously cynical sports town. He made an immediate impact with two brilliant assists -- one to Eric Snow for a jumper and one to Theo Ratliff, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds.