NBA Game Summary - Washington at Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA (Basketball News) - Allen Iverson dropped in 26 points and dished out 15 assists, as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Washington Wizards, 105-97, at the Wachovia Center.

Steven Hunter started in place of the injured Chris Webber and poured in 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Sixers, who with two straight wins moved a half-game ahead of idle Chicago for eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

"Whether I play one minute or thirty minutes, I’ll be ready to play," said Hunter. "I can’t sweat the things I can’t control. All I can control is my actions on the floor. Whenever I get on the floor I’m going to give it 110 percent."

Kyle Korver came off the bench to net 20 points while Andre Iguodala added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists in the win.

Antawn Jamison paced the Wizards with 37 points and eight boards, as Washington dropped its third straight game. Gilbert Arenas netted 32 points and dished out six assists, as the Wizards failed to clinch a playoff berth and remain in fifth place in the East.

"We got things done at the right time tonight," said Iverson. "Every time we went down we kept our composure and got back into the game. We were able to get a lead and sustain it. We showed a lot of character being that those guys (Washington) already had their playoff shirts made up and wanted to wear them after the game. We didn’t give them a chance to do that, now they have to do it somewhere else. We had an extra incentive to beat them and that gave us a great lift. We just did everything right tonight."

Trailing by one, the Sixers opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 surge to take an 88-80 lead. Korver had five points during the run, including a three- pointer off the right wing.

An 8-2 run by the Wizards later in the fourth pulled Washington within one at 91-90 with 5:24 remaining.

Philadelphia answered by scoring six straight points for a seven-point lead at 97-90. Iguodala capped the mini run with an alley-oop dunk off a fast break feed from Iverson, prompting Washington to call a timeout with 3:44 left in the contest.

After Antonio Daniels was called for a technical foul for arguing with the referees, Korver’s free throw made it 98-90 with 2:22 to play.

Arenas hit two from the line to make it a six-point game at 100-94, but Willie Green drilled a three-pointer from the left corner to seal it for the Sixers with a nine-point cushion at 103-94 with 1:03 left.

"Not only Allen (Iverson) was breaking us down but I thought Iguodala got to the paint a couple of times," said Washington head coach Eddie Jordan. "They (Sixers) have guys like Korver; you can’t really leave him. We’re working hard on defense but there’s times where we just can’t contain guys."

The Sixers opened the contest with a 15-6 run, as Iverson donated eight points during the stretch, including two three-pointers. Philadelphia led 27-19 after the first.

The second stanza belonged to the Wizards, who outscored the Sixers 35-23 in the period to take a 54-50 lead into the locker room. Jamison had a huge first half with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field while Arenas netted 19 at the break.

Iverson led Philadelphia with 14 first-half points and also had nine assists.

Despite being outscored 27-24, the Wizards led 78-77 after the third quarter.