NBA Game Summary - Philadelphia at LA Lakers

Los Angeles, CA (Basketball News) - Allen Iverson scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and matched a career-high with 15 assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Los Angeles Lakers, 96-89, at the Staples Center.

Iverson, who was just 2-for-20 from the floor through three periods, ended the game 5-of-28 from the field.

"It was a game I want to forget, but it will probably be a game I will remember for the rest of my life," said Iverson. "It was so bad, but we got the win."

Chris Webber added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third straight and fifth game in six tries.

With the win Philadelphia moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with the Indiana Pacers. The Sixers also gained a half-game in the Atlantic Division, as they now trail the Boston Celtics by just 2 1/2 games.

Both Indiana and Boston were idle on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant had 34 points and 10 boards for the Los Angeles, which suffered its eighth straight loss. The skid is the longest for the Lakers since they dropped 10 in a row in 1993-94.

Tied at 78-78, the Sixers scored six straight points to take control. Bryant then scored five consecutive points to pull the Lakers within one, 84-83, with a little over four minutes to play.

That would be as close as LA would get, as Philadelphia closed the game on a 12-6 run to cruise to the seven-point win.

Rookie Andre Iguodala had 18 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, which kicked off an important three-game west coast road trip. The Sixers will face Webber’s former team, the Sacramento Kings, on Monday.

The teams played a tightly contested opening 12 minutes, but Brian Grant’s jumper was the difference as the Lakers held a 20-18 advantage after one period.

Philadelphia started to establish itself in the second and used an 11-2 spurt that opened the stanza to take a 29-22 advantage. LA then scored seven of the next nine points, six of which on Bryant three-pointers, to narrow the gap to two.

The Sixers re-grouped, though, and built its lead to as many as eight, 41-33. A late flurry by LA, which was capped by a Bryant three-pointer, brought the Lakers to within one. However, Iverson’s coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer gave Philadelphia a 43-40 edge heading into the locker room.

Webber and Samuel Dalembert each had eight points to lead the Sixers at the half, while Iverson had six on just 2-of-12 shooting. He did have seven assists.

Bryant paced the Lakers with 13 points, with all seven of his shot attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Philadelphia extended its lead to five in the early stages of the third, but a 9-0 run by the Lakers gave them a 51-47 advantage. LA eventually went up by as many as five, but that was erased by a 12-3 Philly surge. The Lakers hit the final two buckets of the stanza and trailed 64-63 heading into the final 12 minutes.