Here’s the Skinny: Iverson Scores 32

Allen Iverson kept picking his skinny body up off the floor. In the end, he soared over everybody for a dunk that capped the Philadelphia 76ers’ 115-105 victory Friday night over the Celtics at Boston.

“If you can’t take the punishment, you need to sit on the bench,” Iverson said.

He didn’t do that very much as he played 42 minutes and scored 32 points, leading the 76ers in scoring for the third time in his four games. His dunk ended the scoring.

Iverson, the NBA’s leading rookie scorer, had 30, 15 and 24 points in his other games. Against the Celtics, he scored 15 in the fourth quarter and repeatedly drew fouls with drives to the basket.

“He goes in there so fearlessly,” Boston’s Dana Barros said. “Teams with strong defensive presence are going to hit him and won’t let him come down the lane.

“He has the heart. I don’t know how he can handle it physically.”

Chicago 98, Detroit 80--The Bulls tied the club record set last season with a 5-0 start, knocking the Pistons from the ranks of the undefeated at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Luc Longley scored all 16 of his points as the Bulls took command in the first quarter.

Dennis Rodman, who had 22 rebounds at Miami, pulled down 20 against Detroit.

Charlotte 102, Washington 87--The Hornets held the Bullets to 37% shooting and former Laker Tony Smith scored 20 points off the bench at Landover, Md.

Anthony Goldwire had 18 points, Anthony Mason 17 and Matt Geiger 16 for the Hornets, but it was Charlotte’s defense that made the difference. Washington scored only 19 points in the pivotal third quarter and made only 37 of 99 shots for the game.

Cleveland 88, Vancouver 72--Bob Sura had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and the Cavaliers held the winless Grizzlies to 31% shooting at Cleveland.

Sura was able to get so many rebounds because the Grizzlies kept clanking shots off the rim. Cleveland ran away even though leading scorer Terrell Brandon played only 15 minutes and scored only four points because of foul trouble.

Miami 101, Milwaukee 89--Alonzo Mourning scored six of his 23 points during a decisive 14-0 second-quarter run at Miami.

Mourning, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, also grabbed 10 rebounds and led a contingent of six Heat players in double figures. Reserve center Isaac Austin had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Tim Hardaway had nine assists.

Seattle 87, San Antonio 75--Shawn Kemp had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the SuperSonics at San Antonio.

Seattle led the entire game as San Antonio limped along without center David Robinson and several other injured players.

It wasn’t a stellar shooting night for either team. Seattle shot only 39% to 41% for San Antonio. It was the fourth game out of five that the Spurs have scored fewer than 80 points.

Denver 94, Golden State 91--Dale Ellis scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets rallied for their first home victory of the season.

The Nuggets scored the game’s final seven points, with Ellis scoring the go-ahead basket on a layup after he stole the ball at midcourt with 1:06 left.

Ervin Johnson had his best game in a Denver uniform with 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Mark Jackson added to his NBA-leading assist total with 14.

Orlando 86, New Jersey 82--Penny Hardaway had 29 points and seven rebounds and the Magic survived a fourth-quarter scare by the Nets to sweep of the two-game series in Tokyo.