Allen Iverson, his sore elbow getting more swollen by the minute, scored 30 points Saturday night as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 100-94.
Pistons star Grant Hill lasted only 16 minutes on his sprained left ankle and scored a season-low four points as the Pistons missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth. The Sixers pulled within a game of the Knicks for the third spot in the East.
Philadelphia also moved 11/2 games in front of idle Charlotte for the fourth spot, which would give them homecourt advantage in the first round.
George Lynch turned in a gritty performance with 17 points and 15 rebounds, but the Sixers still struggled to work Toni Kukoc into the offense and were sloppy at times with 22 turnovers.
With Hill watching from the bench in obvious pain, a disjointed performance was good enough.
Speaking of disjointed, Iverson's shooting elbow was looking worse and worse. Wrapped in a white stocking-like cloth, it was gruesomely swollen. Iverson could barely straighten it, and he had to leave the game once because it was bleeding.
Iverson, also playing with a broken big toe and partially torn rotator cuff, made 11 of 22 shots and took quite a beating.
Hill sprained his left ankle last Monday at Minnesota while scoring 36 points in a 102-100 loss. He had only 12 points in 31 minutes Wednesday night in a 90-73 victory over Miami.
Hill hobbled around for awhile in the first half as the Pistons trailed 50-47, then tried to come out and play in the third quarter. His ankle heavily taped, Hill's limp was even worse after halftime. He left the game with 9:47 left in the third and never returned.
The Sixers had already burned what was essentially a four-man team for three quick baskets for a 56-49 lead. With Hill out, they extended it to as many as 13 in the third and 17 in the fourth before a garbage-time rally produced the final margin.
With all his bumps, bruises and bandages, Iverson was the focal point during an intense stretch that was physical enough for helmets and shoulder pads.
Iverson, a former high school football star, took a shot in the head from Jerome Williams at the top of the key before setting up Tyrone Hill's layup for a 43-39 lead with 2:21 left in the second quarter. Moments later, he stood near the foul line with his clenched fists on his forehead and battered elbows in the air.
CAVALIERS 106, KNICKS 96: At Cleveland, the Knicks' chances of winning the Atlantic Division took a huge hit as they lost decisively on the road for the second night in a row.
Andre Miller scored 18 points to lead six Cleveland players in double figures. New York (49-31), coming off a 15-point loss at Toronto, fell 11/2 games behind Miami.
Allan Houston had 21 points for the Knicks, who could never mount a comeback after Cleveland used a 13-4 run to open a 23-12 lead.
Lamond Murray scored 16 points, Shawn Kemp had 15, Bob Sura and Mark Bryant 14 apiece and Wesley Person 12 for Cleveland.
BUCKS 120, WIZARDS 116 (OT) : At Washington, Sam Cassell scored 34 points, including consecutive baskets at the start of overtime, as Milwaukee moved within a half-game of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot.
Glenn Robinson added 31 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen scored 29 points for Milwaukee, which has two games remaining. The Bucks travel to Orlando, which currently holds the eighth seed, on Monday and play host to the Wizards, who they've gone 2-1 against, on Wednesday.
Juwan Howard and Mitch Richmond each scored 21 points for the Wizards, who didn't trail until 3:34 remained in the fourth quarter.
NUGGETS 115, CLIPPERS 114, OT: At Los Angeles, Nick Van Exel scored a career-high 44 points and Antonio McDyess scored four of his 30 points in the final 1:15 of overtime as the Denver Nuggets handed the Los Angeles Clippers their 16th straight loss.
The defeat was the Clippers' 66th mathematically clinching the NBA's worst record for the fourth time in the last 14 years and officially stamping them as the second-worst Clippers team of all time. The 1986-87 edition lost 70 games, and the franchise lost 65 games five other times.