PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Allen Iverson returned from a sprained toe to score 27 points and
Dikembe Mutumbo added 20 as the Phjiladelphia 76ers cruised to a
110-83 rout of the injury-depleted Denver Nuggets Monday night.
Iverson is nursing a sprained right big toe that forced him to
miss Sunday's game against Indiana but refused to miss another
game in order to help the struggling Sixers, who had dropped
four of their previous five games.
Van Exel, who leads Denver in scoring and assists, missed his
fourth straight game with inflammation in his left elbow. He
clearly is the leader of the struggling Nuggets but has made
news only off the court with his trade demands.
Without its most explosive scorer, Denver trailed from the start
and was competitive for less than a quarter.
The Sixers had a 14-10 edge less than nine minutes into the game
before reeling off 10 straight points. Iverson had three layups
during the burst and scored seven points during a 14-2 run early
in the second quarter as Philadelphia pulled away.
The Nuggets never got closer than 20 in the final 34 minutes and
Philadelphia had its largest lead, 86-52 after two free throws
by Iverson with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
Raef LaFrentz scored 17 points and Avery Johnson scored 10 of
his 17 in the second quarter for Denver, which dropped the final
two games of its four-game road trip after winning the first
two.
