Iverson Sparks 76ers

This is the team Allen Iverson expected to see before the season started.

Iverson scored 38 points and Derrick Coleman had 18 points and nine rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 96-91, Wednesday night at Philadelphia.

The 76ers have won 11 of 15 this month.

“We’re just coming together as a team,” Iverson said. “We’re understanding where we need to be on the floor. We understand how to win with each other. This team is so much different than last [season]. Last [season] we could be 10 points behind with two, three minutes left and we just knew we’d win. We just have to get that fight like last [season]. The new guys want to get that fight because they don’t want to be a loose link.”

Wally Szczerbiak had 31 points and Kevin Garnett had 18 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost four of five.

Utah 90, Chicago 78--Karl Malone scored 18 points for the Jazz at Salt Lake City, putting him squarely at 34,000 in his 17-year career.

John Stockton had 16 points and 10 assists for Utah. Rookie Andre Kirilenko had 15 points.

Eddie Robinson led the Bulls with 18 points.

Indiana 83, Memphis 82--Jalen Rose scored 25 points, Jermaine O’Neal had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pacers used a game-ending 17-3 run to win at Indianapolis.

Shane Battier had 27 points for Memphis.

Detroit 88, Atlanta 71--Jerry Stackhouse had 32 points and Ben Wallace had a season-high 19 rebounds for Detroit at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Pistons won their fourth in a row and the 2,000th in franchise history, becoming the sixth team to reach that milestone.