A.I. is back but Sixers are not

Iverson underwent surgery to remove an abscessed wisdom tooth and missed two games during a four-game slide. His return, though, was a good one as he scored a season-high 46 points in a win over Chicago on November 24.

Since then the Sixers have dropped three in a row, but Iverson is averaging 39.5 points a contest during the four games. After scorching the Bulls for 46 points, Iverson posted 31 points against Cleveland, 45 against Miami and 37 points in Saturday’s loss to New Jersey.

A.I., who is second in the league with 32.1 points per outing, is truly the leader of this team and comes to play every night. He did, however, miss Wednesday’s team event after taking a pain killer for his tooth and falling asleep. Iverson was fined for not attending the team’s bowling outing.

In other injury news, Sixers forward Chris Webber returned to action on Saturday against the Nets after missing six games with back problems. Webber had 15 points on 7-for-20 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists. Philly was 1-5 without Webber in the lineup and it got no better last night at Continental Airlines Arena.

Forward Shavlik Randolph underwent successful surgery on his fractured and dislocated left ankle suffered during practice on November 30. Randolph is expected to miss about three to four months.

Meanwhile, forward Kyle Korver sprained his left ankle during practice on Friday and missed Saturday’s loss at New Jersey. The Sixers lost their sixth straight on the road and fell to 2-8 away from the Wachovia Center this season.

Philly is also just 2-10 in its last 12 games overall.