Iverson tops 40 points 15th time this season

"Any practice would be good right now," said Iverson, who scored 41 points as the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Washington Wizards 107-102 Friday night. "If we get our chemistry together, we`ll be OK."

The Sixers have had very little practice time since the All-Star break, which has been especially evident as they try to incorporate Dikembe Mutombo, acquired a week ago from Atlanta.

Mutombo had 16 rebounds and 14 points, including three key free throws in the final minute after Washington tied the game twice in the fourth quarter and closed to 102-100 with 1:19 left.

Coach Larry Brown wasn`t too critical of his team, but said he looked forward to four days of practice before Wednesday night`s home game against New Jersey.

"Guys have been either sick or hurt," Brown said. "Tomorrow we will walk through some stuff and hopefully iron some things out. I think that it will be helpful for us."

Richard Hamilton scored a career-high 34 points for Washington, which lost its sixth in a row. Mitch Richmond and Courtney Alexander added 17 points each.

The Sixers led by as many as 16 in the third quarter but struggled with poor shooting, bad passes and turnovers.

The crowd turned on the 76ers midway through the fourth, booing as Matt Geiger replaced Mutombo and fouled Christian Laettner, who hit both free throws during a 12-2 run. More boos followed when Hamilton drove for a layup with 8:56 left to tie the game at 86-86, the first time the game was even since early in the second quarter.

Iverson kept the Sixers in the game, scoring all his team`s points for the first seven minutes and making all but one of the Sixers` fourth-quarter field goals. It was Iverson`s 15th game this season scoring 40 or more points.

"They shot very well and we made some mistakes down the stretch," said Mutombo, who had three of the team`s 14 turnovers. "They had very good views of the basket."

The Wizards closed to 102-100 after a 3-pointer by Alexander with 1:50 left.

The Sixers scored nine of their final 14 points on foul shots. Mutombo made one of two free throws with 51 seconds left after Laettner was called for an offensive foul. The big man hit both foul shots 15 seconds later after Laettner missed a layup.

"I was proud of the fact that we fought back to put ourselves in a position where we had a chance to win the game," Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Snow had 15 points and 11 assists, notching his first double-double since returning Feb. 13 from ankle surgery. Snow scored in double figures 11 of 15 games before going on the injured list Dec. 9, but averaged just 5.1 points in the nine games he`s been back.

Game notes
Charles Barkley, who played for the 76ers from 1984-92, will become the seventh Philadelphia player to have his number retired. Barkley`s No. 34 will be raised to the rafters of the First Union Center during halftime March 31. ... Washington`s Tyrone Nesby was placed on the injured list Friday with a sprained right ankle and lower back strain. Rookie draft pick Mike Smith was re-signed, but he did not play. ... The Wizards had only one player scoring more than 20 points for the first time in five games.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News