76ers ignited by return of Iverson

Philly:It wasn't just Iverson's 29 points and 12 assists that proved valuable as the Sixers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 115-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the Wachovia Center. It was the team's energy and enthusiasm, as well as the open shots Iverson helped create for other players.

"I feel like people have tried to divide us for some reason, saying that we don't want to play with Allen," Kyle Korver said after knocking down six of seven three-point shots and scoring 23 points. "There's a perception we don't like playing with him.

"That's not the case at all. Allen provides so much for this team. Obviously, he's a heck of a player. I still can't figure out how he can miss that many days and then come back and play like that. He played great."

Iverson, who had sat out because of a sprained and bruised right foot, wanted his return to give his teammates a shot of confidence, particularly coming off a horrible 0-3 West Coast road trip that could have been 2-1 with better play in the fourth quarter.

"That's the way I feel, and I hope they feel that way," Iverson said. "I hope they were glad that I was back. I hope I did give them some type of confidence. That's important for my confidence, for me to feel wanted and be able to go out there and try to make something happen."

Thanks in large part to the presence of Iverson, the Sixers avoided a season-worst losing streak, snapped a six-game run of scoring fewer than 100 points, and saw three players score more than 20 points in the same game for the seventh time this season.

In addition to Iverson and Korver, Chris Webber added 21 points to go with 10 rebounds. Andre Iguodala missed making it four at 20, but contributed 17 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds.

"Any time you have a player like Allen not play for four consecutive games, you're going to miss him," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "You're going to miss his ability to score. You're going to miss his ability to drive. You're going to miss a lot of things.

"You saw tonight where he has the ability to drive the ball, penetrate and pass to other people. He opens up a lot of things for a lot of players. It's not just his 30 or 40 points. You're going to miss his competitive spirit. I think all of our guys looked forward to him coming back."

The Sixers started quickly and held on to a comfortable advantage for most of the game.

They rolled to a 14-point lead before the game was nine minutes old. The Hawks got to within six, but Iverson, who sank 10 of 22 shots from the field, drained his final five shots of the second quarter, leading his team to a 67-point first half, a season high, and a 19-point advantage.

The margin got as high as 24 in the third quarter, and the Sixers led by 109-88 when Cheeks gave Iverson the rest of the night off with 4 minutes, 49 seconds remaining. The Hawks, who placed six players in double figures led by Josh Smith with 22, didn't stop playing and narrowed the deficit to single digits in the game's final minute.

"It was our resolve," Webber said of the way the team played for most of the night. "I just kept repeating the word finish."

Webber said assistant coach Henry Bibby "made me laugh because I loved it when he said, 'Smell blood.' That's how you have to be. You can be a nice guy off the court, but on the court, you just have to be kind of ruthless. That's the way we need to be to finish games."

Cheeks wasn't too worried about the Hawks' 18-6 finish. After watching the Sixers lose seven of their previous eight games, he'll take the win any way it comes.

"It's a win," he said. "I thought we played well for 31/2 quarters. Our focus was there."