Iverson Is the Answer for 76ers’ Losing Streak

Allen Iverson says he knows he’s injured when someone can defend him. If that’s the case, then he must be better.

Iverson scored 36 points in his first game back to help the 76ers end a five-game losing streak with a 90-78 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at Philadelphia.

“If it comes to a point that somebody can guard me, then I know I’m hurt,” Iverson said. “My thing is as long as I can run, I can play. And I could run.”

Iverson showed no sign of the severe left hip bruise that caused him to miss five of the last six games. He scored on his first shot, scored 13 of the team’s 19 points in the first quarter and played 42 minutes.

Coach Larry Brown said he was confident that Iverson was better after watching him in practice Sunday.

“His arm wasn’t sore, I know that,” Brown joked.

The loss snapped Milwaukee’s five-game win streak. The Bucks had won the previous two meetings with the 76ers this season.

“It happens. We just carry on. The better team won tonight,” said Sam Cassell, who led the Bucks with 20 points before leaving with a bruised left hip at the end of the third quarter. “I think if we meet in the playoffs, it’s going to be a hell of a series.”

Dallas 98, Utah 90--Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 of his 27 points in the final two minutes and Michael Finley added 33 as the Mavericks defeated the Jazz at Salt Lake City.

The Mavericks held the Jazz without a field goal for more than seven minutes in the fourth quarter to win at the Delta Center for the third time in a row after not winning here for 11 years.

Karl Malone had 21 points for the Jazz, which has lost four in a row against teams bound for the Western Conference playoffs.

New York 89, Golden State 87--Glen Rice made a three-point shot at the regulation buzzer to force overtime, and Mookie Blaylock missed a three-pointer at the end of overtime as the Knicks blew a 20-point lead but rallied to win at Oakland.

Allan Houston made a jumper with 1:24 left in overtime that turned out to be the winning basket.

Seattle 104, Cleveland 86--Gary Payton scored 21 points at Seattle to help the SuperSonics beat the Cavaliers for the 11th consecutive time.

Denver 109, Chicago 104--Two free throws by Antonio McDyess with 53 seconds left in overtime broke a tie and helped the Nuggets win in Chicago for the first time since 1994.

McDyess finished with 35 points and George McCloud had an NBA season-high 22 assists for the Nuggets.

Around the league

Two weeks after his season and career appeared in jeopardy because of a blood clot in his left leg, Houston Rocket center Hakeem Olajuwon expects to play tonight against the Utah Jazz. Doctors announced March 13 that Olajuwon would be sidelined three to six months while taking medication for a clot in a vein in his lower left leg. Further tests last week, however, revealed the blood vessels in Olajuwon’s left leg are now open, clearing his return. . . . Guard Larry Hughes, the Golden State Warriors’ second-leading scorer, will sit out the rest of the season because of injuries to his left shoulder and right thumb. . . . Wang Zhizhi, a 7-foot-1 Chinese center, could play his first game for the Dallas Mavericks on April 5 against the Atlanta Hawks, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said. Wang, who would be the first Asian to play in the NBA, has not yet signed with the Mavericks.