After Allen Iverson's 3-pointer sailed through the net, he sprinted back down court and waved his arms to the fans, cupping his ear to bring their cheers to a boil.
The 76ers built a nine-point lead over the Detroit Pistons with 1 minute and 33 seconds remaining. Just then, Chris Webber stopped Iverson and hoisted him three feet into the air, carrying him to the sideline when Detroit called timeout.
The Sixers' sagging spirits soared Friday night, back at home, against the defending champions. Iverson scored a game-high 37 points to lead the Sixers to a 115-104 victory in the Wachovia Center, cutting Detroit's first-round series lead to two games to one. And for the first time in this series, Iverson and his teammates carried each other.
Iverson added 15 assists and five Sixers scored in double figures. Webber, the much-maligned newcomer, overcame a 3-for-13 shooting start to score nine points in the fourth quarter.
"I'm going to need Chris, and Chris is going to need me," Iverson said. "And we're going to need the rest of our teammates.
"He's a big part of our team," Iverson added. "I think this honestly is the start of something good for this organization, for this city. We're in the beginning stages right now; what better way to start off the 1-2 punch than in the playoffs?"
But for the Sixers, the victory was more than two players playing in a zone. Center Samuel Dalembert's layup protected a one-point lead with 7:51 to play, and he hit a 16-foot, turn-around jumper as the shot-clock buzzed four minutes later, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Rodney Rogers hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Sixers overcome an eight-point deficit and take the lead for good entering the fourth quarter.
"Allen was phenomenal, and I thought that everybody that came in made a difference," Pistons coach Larry Brown said.
Brown had been back four times in the two seasons since he left for Detroit, but this was his first playoff game with the Pistons in Philadelphia, where he and Iverson had spent 57 postseason games and six love-hate seasons together.
In 2001, the Sixers advanced to the finals, losing to the Lakers in five games. That year, Iverson won the most valuable player award.
"I think this year, he may not win it, but this is, by far, in my mind, his best year," Brown said. "He's done an awful lot when you consider what they lost, the changes they made and the importance of the season."
Iverson shot 15 for 26, pacing the Sixers to a 55.1 percent shooting night. That is a rarity against the top defensive team in the league.
"They couldn't miss," Detroit's Chauncey Billups said. "We were right there. Anytime a team beats you shooting all jumpers, you have to tip your hat to them."
The Sixers trailed by eight at the start of the third quarter, but Iverson personally pulled his team back, scoring on three of four possessions.
Rogers, who played no more than 6 minutes in the first two games, thrived in 18 minutes scoring 15 points. He hit the game-tying shot with 3:41 to play in the third.
The rookie Andre Iguodala added seven points that quarter, giving Iverson the help he had been desperately seeking this series.
While four Pistons scored in double figures in the first half, Iverson led all scorers with 17 points, keeping the Sixers in the game despite a deflating opening.
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