Allen Iverson 54pts FULL Highlights Vs Cavs [lHqVeApWAfc]

Allen Iverson keeps scoring and the

Philadelphia 76ers keep winning.

One night after a 41-point effort in Philadelphia's most

lopsided win of the season, Iverson scored an NBA season-high

and career-best 54 in a 107-103 victory over the Cleveland

Cavaliers.

"It was like he was playing horse tonight," said 76ers guard

Aaron McKie, who had 20 points and nine assists. "His jumper

was deadly."

Using mostly jump shots, Iverson went 20-of-30 from the field.

He also hit 10-of-13 free-throw attempts en route to his third

career 50-point game and first since February 6 against

Sacramento.

"When your jumper is on, the basket seems like an ocean and the

basketball seems like a rock," he said. "That is the way it

felt tonight.

"My teammates are the ones that set the screens for me and got

me the ball in spots where I need the ball. My coach calls the

plays and I wouldn't set a career high without those guys."

The 1998-99 NBA scoring champion, Iverson broke his own Gund

Arena record for points. He has fond memories of this building,

having scored 50 points in a 125-118 loss in April 1997 after

being named Most Valuable Player of the rookie game at All-Star

Weekend that same year.

"Coming here is something special because I remember I came in

here and won the MVP of the rookie game in 1997," he said. "All

I heard was boos and didn't understand it. I always look

forward to coming back here to play in front of these people."

The 76ers extended their winning streak to six games and

improved the league's best record to 24-8. They have won eight

straight on the road, three shy of a franchise record.

Theo Ratliff chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks

for Philadelphia, which was coming off Friday night's 121-89

home rout of Seattle.

Despite Iverson's 54 points, the Sixers could not shake

Cleveland, which closed within 103-99 on a three-point play by

Lamond Murray with 67 seconds left but could not get any closer.

"I thought our guys gave what they could," coach Randy Wittman

said. "They ran into a guy that had it going tonight. I

thought we gave a great effort but just couldn't overcome his 54

points."

Andre Miller had 22 points and 14 assists for the Cavaliers, who

have lost three straight and eight of nine after a six-game

winning streak.

The Cavs got within four points five times before Miller capped

the scoring with a dunk, but the trio of Iverson, McKie and

Ratliff foiled them each time.

Murray's three-point play with 67 seconds left got Cleveland

within four points but Ratliff followed with a 15-footer and

Iverson added two free throws for a 107-99 lead with 22 seconds

to play.

Playing for the second straight night, the Sixers trailed 15-4

less than five minutes into the game. But Iverson scored eight

points and Ratliff added six during an 18-6 run that gave

Philadelphia a 27-25 lead after one period.

The Sixers never trailed again, pistons vs cavaliers leading by as many as 11 points

three times.

Iverson, McKie and Ratliff combined for 26 of 29 Sixers points

as they turned a 15-4 deficit into a 33-29 lead 3:15 into the

second quarter.

The bhuvneshwar kumar lead hovered between five and 10 points until a layup by

Rodney Buford made it 55-44 with 73 seconds to play in the first

half. The Sixers took a 56-48 lead into the locker room behind

Iverson's 28 points.

Iverson scored Philadelphia's first 13 points of the third

quarter on a trio of jumpers, a 3-pointer, a three-point play

and a free throw for a 69-61 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left in the

period.

"He was amazing," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "He shot the

ball as well as you can shoot it because there weren't a lot of

easy shots. People had a hand in his face."

"What a Larry Brown team avatar does really well is spread the floor

well for Allen," Cleveland guard Jim Jackson said. "It's really

hard to stop a guy like that on the perimeter."