76ers rout Bucks
to clinch playoff spot

updated 10:18 p.m. ET April 18, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - Just when Allen Iverson put some controversy behind him, a familiar face could be peeking around the postseason corner ready to stir up some mixed feelings.

Then again, with the way Iverson is playing, perhaps an emotional reunion with his former coach may be delayed.

Iverson had 39 points and 12 assists, and Kyle Korver scored 19 points to lead the 76ers back into the postseason for the first time in two years with a 122-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

“I feel like myself and my teammates, we are a playoff team,” Iverson said. “We believed that all year. We believed in each other. We stuck with each other in good times and bad times and we never pointed fingers at each other.”

The Sixers blew a chance to clinch a playoff spot a day earlier by losing in New Jersey, but they didn’t waste this opportunity. They raced to a 22-point lead and won for the seventh time in nine games and 10th in the last 15 — a fantastic finish for a team that seemed headed toward the lottery about six weeks ago.

Philadelphia (42-39) can finish, sixth, seventh or eighth in the Eastern Conference depending on how Indiana, fading Cleveland and streaking New Jersey fare in their final games. If Chicago beats the Pacers on Wednesday and the Sixers beat Atlanta, Philadelphia would earn the No. 6 seed.

“We had to act like we wanted to get in,” Iverson said. “We had to play this game as hard as we could. I was telling my teammates ‘After this game, you should really be tired because you should leave everything out there.’ This game had a lot on the line.”

Playoff fever hasn’t exactly gripped the city. Competing with a Mets-Phillies game across the street, there were plenty of empty pockets of seats in the lower level and upper deck. Maybe the possible return of former coach Larry Brown — with whom Iverson famously feuded — will the give the Sixers some juice on the local sports scene.

The Sixers would play second-seeded Detroit, the defending champion, if the standings remained the same.

“It doesn’t matter, regardless of who we start out with,” Iverson said.

Chris Webber had 18 points and Andre Iguodala added 15 for the Sixers.

Not even 21 points and 20 rebounds from Dan Gadzuric could help the Bucks. Desmond Mason scored 22 points.

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