Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson was in the starting lineup against the Memphis Grizzlies, two days after sitting out a game rather than come off the bench.
Iverson, Philadelphia's leading scorer with 27 points a game, missed three straight games with a swollen right knee before Sunday's matchup against the Detroit Pistons. He said he was ready to play and was in uniform but changed his mind when interim coach Chris Ford told him he'd be a reserve. Iverson watched the game from the Sixers bench in street clothes. The All-Star guard said he was a starter, not a sixth man.
Ford said he was trying to protect Iverson from aggravating the injury.
PHOTO: AFP
Sixers president and general manager Billy King, who came to Memphis to soothe the situation, talked to Iverson for about an hour Tuesday afternoon.
"We're trying to move forward," King said. "The sun came up today. He's going to start. We're going to play, and try to get a win."
Iverson was not available for comment before Tuesday's game, but King said they discussed the relationship between coach and player, Philadelphia's drive to the playoffs and trade rumors involving Iverson. King came to Memphis to talk to Iverson face-to-face rather than by telephone.
"The bottom line is, I think Allen understands what the goal is at hand," King said. "That's to try to get in the playoffs and do as well as we can there."
But King acknowledged the matter was getting in the way of that goal. He said the showdown between coach and player had been "very very distracting."
As for the trade rumors, King assured Iverson there is "no intention" of trading him. "He said, `Billy, I want to be Sixer. This is where I want to be. I want to die a 76er. I don't want to leave Philadelphia.'"
King had not talked at length with Ford, but expects to discuss the matter with him Wednesday.
Ford, who has dealt with the issue for the past two days, wasn't interested in dwelling on it before facing the Grizzlies.
"I'm just coaching, that's all I'm doing," Ford said. "It's always over for me at the end of the day. It's a new day everyday."
Nets 94, Kings 77
Rodney Rogers hit his first six shots and the New Jersey Nets showed the Sacramento Kings a thing or two on both offense and defense in posting a 94-77 victory Tuesday night.
The win ended New Jersey's three-game losing streak against the Kings and went a long way in avenging a 105-92 decision in Sacramento on Nov. 30, a game in which the Kings led 60-28 at the half.
The Nets hit 18 of their first 27 shots from the field and held the Kings to just nine first-quarter points, the lowest quarter of the season for the NBA's top-scoring team.
Kerry Kittles, who hit four straight baskets early in the third quarter to end any hopes of a second-half comeback by Sacramento, led New Jersey with 24 points. Rogers finished with 20, hitting eight of 11, and Richard Jefferson added 19.
While he scored only four points, Jason Kidd had 13 assists as New Jersey held a 30-6 advantage on the fast break.
Mike Bibby had 17 points for Sacramento and Chris Webber added 15, missing his first five shots and finishing 5-of-17. Peja Stojakovic had 11, all in the first half.
Cavaliers 111, Bulls 87
In Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 24 points with 17 rebounds and Cleveland won its seventh straight -- its longest winning streak since 1997.
Carlos Boozer added 22 points and 13 rebounds, and LeBron James had 17 points, eight assists and five blocks for the Cavs, who improved to 11-3 since the All-Star break.
Jamal Crawford had 17 points and Kirk Hinrich 14 for the Bulls, who dropped their seventh straight and fell to an NBA-worst 18-49.
Ilgauskas had his way inside against the Bulls, blocking five shots and tying a career high with 10 offensive rebounds.
Jeff McInnis finished with 17 points and eight assists as the Cavaliers improved to 17-8 since acquiring him from Portland on Jan. 21 for Darius Miles.
Heat 96, Hornets 83
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 23 points to lead Miami over New Orleans.
The Heat never trailed and outscored the Hornets 18-11 in the final 9:17 to win their sixth straight home game.
Caron Butler finished with 20 points and Rafer Alston added 17, including a 3-pointer in the first quarter, which set a franchise record for making at least one 3-pointer in 34 consecutive games.
Baron Davis had 23 points to lead the Hornets, who played without injured starters Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown.
SuperSonics 118, Hawks 110
In Atlanta, Brent Barry scored a season-high 28 points, Ray Allen added 27 and Seattle beat Atlanta Hawks to win two straight for the first time in 24 games.
The Sonics improved to 4-1 in their last five games in Atlanta, but Seattle entered with just one victory in seven games and three of 14 overall.
Stephen Jackson scored 39 points for the Hawks, who have lost six of seven.
Barry had 17 points in the second quarter, as many as the Hawks. He went 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. But Barry didn't score again until his straightaway 3 made it 107-99 with 3:20 remaining.
Knicks 114, Wizards 110, OT
In New York, after five overtime defeats, including an excruciating one several days earlier, the Knicks finally won a game that lasted longer than 48 minutes by defeating Washington.
Tim Thomas scored 32 points and Stephon Marbury had 16 points and 14 assists as the Knicks narrowly defeated an opponent that had been struggling all month.
New York remained in a tie with Miami for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks had a chance for their first overtime victory of the season only because Nazr Mohammed tipped in a shot to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Gilbert Arenas had 27 points for Washington, but was one of five players to foul out of the game. Jerry Stackhouse added 23 points as the Wizards lost their seventh game in a row.
Trail Blazers 100, Bucks 99
In Milwaukee, Damon Stoudamire made a fallaway jumper with a second left to lift Portland to its fourth straight win after blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead.
Trailing 99-98, Zach Randolph lost the ball in the lane with 4 seconds to go, but Stoudamire grabbed it and made the winning 12-footer as the shot clock expired.
Derek Anderson and Darius Miles each scored 20 points for Portland.
Michael Redd had 26 points and Desmond Mason added 18 for Milwaukee.
Grizzlies 82, 76ers 79
In Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and James Posey scored the final four points to lead Memphis over Philadelphia.
Allen Iverson returned to the 76ers starting lineup after missing four games with a bad knee, and two days after he refused to play when interim coach Chris Ford told the star guard he would come off the bench.
Reserve Bo Outlaw had 15 points and six rebounds for Memphis, which rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter.
Aaron McKie led Philadelphia with 22 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, while Kenny Thomas added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Iverson finished with 10 points, all in the first half. He missed all seven of his shots in the second half.
Clippers 110, Suns 98
In Phoenix, Quentin Richardson had 32 points and 12 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Phoenix.
The Suns, who played their fourth game in five nights, have to go 7-0 in their final seven games at America West Arena to avoid the first losing record at home since their inaugural season in 1968-1969.
Elton Brand scored 27 and Corey Maggette had 23 as the Clippers scored 100 points for the first time in a victory since Feb. 21.
Amare Stoudemire topped the Suns with 28 points, the 15th time in the last 16 games he has reached the 20-point mark. Shawn Marion added 19 points Joe Johnson had 18.
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