Allen Iverson 37pts 8asts vs Detroit Pistons 02/03 NBA *AI plays thru injury

Allen Iverson's knee is doing just fine.

Iverson, playing despite left knee bursitis, had 37 points and
eight assists, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 91-74 victory
over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

"It's not getting any better, but it's not getting any worse,"
Iverson said. "I'm feeling the same. It keeps getting bigger. They
talked about draining it today, but I didn't let it happen."

Kenny Thomas added 16 points and 15 rebounds for Philadelphia,
which snapped a two-game losing skid and moved within two games of
Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern
Conference.

Clifford Robinson had 16 points and Richard Hamilton added 14
for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight game.

The Central Division-leading Pistons entered the night 1½ games
ahead of Indiana. They trail the Nets by one game.

"They did a great job penetrating the defense," Robinson said.
"We couldn't keep Iverson in front of us and that hurt."

Philadelphia broke open a one-point game with a 9-0 run in the
second quarter. Iverson had two driving layups during the spurt and
capped it with a crisp bounce pass to Aaron McKie for an easy layup
that gave the Sixers a 41-31 lead.

A 3-pointer by Eric Snow right before the buzzer made it 54-43
at halftime, and the Sixers led by double digits the entire second
half.

"We got a chance to get home-court advantage. This was a big
step," Sixers coach Larry Brown said.

It was the Detroit's first game without All-Star forward Ben
Wallace, who sprained his left medial collateral ligament on
Sunday.

The Sixers again were without Keith Van Horn, who sat out his
second straight with a strained left foot.

"We just weren't able to keep them out of the paint," Pistons
coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'd like to say it was because Ben
wasn't in there, but we can't use that as an excuse. If you give up
52 points in the paint, you're not going to win. It's as simple as
that."

Iverson, who hasn't missed a game this season, was a game-time
decision. He said after Sunday's loss to Sacramento that he might
have to sit out down the stretch. However, Iverson was still on the
court with the Sixers leading by 20 and less than five minutes
left.

"I was just playing basketball," Iverson said. "I had the
same energy. It didn't feel any different. I was just able to make
things happen."

Iverson was 13-for-23 from the field and 11-for-13 from the foul
line. He shot just six free throws combined in his last two games
because his injury didn't allow him to drive to the basket much and
draw fouls.

The Sixers put the game away with an 8-0 run early in the
fourth. Iverson started it with a driving layup and 16-footer.
Derrick Coleman hit a 14-footer and Thomas nailed another jumper to
make it 83-60.