76ers Win Despite Wade’s 48

Allen Iverson again is leading Philadelphia upward in the Eastern Conference standings.

Iverson had 38 points and 16 assists, helping the 76ers spoil the return of Shaquille O’Neal and overcome a career-high 48 points from Dwyane Wade with a 126-119 overtime victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Philadelphia.

“It’s like a do-or-die situation,” Iverson said. “A loss here or there and we could be out of the playoffs. We understand that. It just says a lot about us.”

Marc Jackson scored 26 points and Kyle Korver 20 for the 76ers (40-38), who moved into seventh ahead of Cleveland (40-38) in the Eastern Conference playoff race because they hold the tiebreaker.

Wade, who made 18 of 33 shots and 10 of 13 free throws, couldn’t keep the Heat from losing its season-high third straight game.

O’Neal returned after missing three games because of a stomach ailment and viral infection that left him unable to eat for several days. O’Neal was limited to 30 minutes in regulation. He scored 13 points in regulation but none in an overtime in which he missed two free throws with the Heat trailing by three in the final minute.

O’Neal, who also had 12 rebounds in 35 minutes but made only three of 11 free throws, did not talk to reporters afterward.

New York 95, Cleveland 89 -- Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and Maurice Taylor had 16, including 11 in the pivotal fourth quarter, to help slow the Cavaliers’ playoff run.

Cleveland (40-38) leads idle New Jersey (38-40) by two games with four games left. The Cavaliers also would lose a tiebreaker to New Jersey.

LeBron James had 27 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for Cleveland, which couldn’t overcome eight fourth-quarter turnovers. Cavalier center Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned after missing four games because of a dislocated right ring finger and finished with 13 points in 27 minutes.

Dallas 102, Portland 90 -- Playing without Dirk Nowitzki, Jerry Stackhouse scored 18 points off the bench to help the visiting Mavericks win their sixth in a row and sweep the four-game season series from the Trail Blazers for the first time.

Nowitzki had a sore left shoulder.