Iverson New to Club 54

Allen Iverson, still bothered by boos he heard in Cleveland nearly four years ago, scored a career-high 54 points Saturday night as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-103, for their eighth consecutive road victory.

Iverson, coming off a 41-point performance against the Seattle SuperSonics, broke his own Gund Arena record of 50 points, making 20 of 30 shots in front of a sellout crowd of 20,562.

Iverson’s 54 points also was the most in the league this season, surpassing the 53 scored by Tony Delk of the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

In 1997, Iverson was named most valuable player of the Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend at the Gund, but was booed by Cleveland fans who apparently didn’t care for the speedy guard’s tattoos or attitude.

Iverson hasn’t forgotten.

“Coming here is always special because I remember when I first came here and all I heard was boos,” Iverson said. “I didn’t understand that. I didn’t know why. Maybe they felt somebody else should have won [the MVP award]. But I felt bad the way they treated me for no reason.”