Iverson lights it up in defeat
No matter how many shots he took, Allen Iverson couldn’t beat the Atlanta Hawks by himself.
Iverson scored 53 points, the fifth-highest total of his career, but Joe Johnson had 24 to lead the Hawks over the Philadelphia 76ers 111-108 on Friday night.
“I’m as disappointed as everybody else on my team,” Iverson said. “We wanted to go into the holidays with a win. We’ll have to get this one out of our system and come back to work.”
Zaza Pachulia added a career-high 23 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Al Harrington scored 22 for Atlanta, which won its fourth straight at home and its fifth in the last seven games overall.
Iverson’s outburst came on a night that featured several other high-scoring performances. Vince Carter scored 51 for New Jersey, Gilbert Arenas 41 for Golden State, Elton Brand 38 for the Los Angeles Clippers and Michael Redd 36 for Milwaukee.
Nets 95, Heat 88: Vince Carter tied a career high with 51 points, 37 in the second half, and New Jersey extended its season-high winning streak to five games with a victory at Miami.
Wizards 112, Suns 111: Gilbert Arenas scored 41 points and Golden State defeated host Phoenix.
Arenas missed three free throws in the final 44 seconds, coming up two points short of his season high. He had a chance to ice the game with 12 seconds left, but he missed both foul shots, and Shawn Marion rebounded for the Suns.
At the other end, the Suns had two shots to take the lead but Boris Diaw and Jim Jackson both missed.
Clippers 97, Bobcats 88: At Charlotte, N.C., Elton Brand had 38 points and 20 rebounds as Los Angeles took advantage of Charlotte’s shortage of big men.
Chris Kaman added 22 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the Clippers.
Pistons 97, Warriors 85: Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and Ben Wallace added 15 points and 14 rebounds to help Detroit improve to 21-3 with a victory over Golden State at Auburn Hills, Mich.
Lakers 104, Magic 88: Kobe Bryant had 21 points and nine assists, and Chris Mihm scored 20 points to lead Los Angeles to a win at Orlando, Fla.
Trail Blazers 91, Timberwolves 83: Zach Randolph had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Ruben Patterson added a season-high 23 points and Portland overcame coach Nate McMillan’s ejection to earn a victory over Minnesota at Minneapolis.
Grizzlies 95, Bulls 77: Mike Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Grizzlies defeated Chicago at Memphis, Tenn.
Cavaliers 94, Pacers 89: LeBron James scored a season-low 14 points, but added nine assists and eight rebounds as the Cavaliers defeated Indiana at Cleveland.
Knicks 98, Jazz 90: Jamal Crawford scored 28 points and Stephon Marbury had 22 points and seven assists as the Knicks snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak with a victory over Utah at New York.
Nuggets 108, Rockets 86: Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Denver held Tracy McGrady to a single basket over the first three quarters, defeating Houston at Denver.
Bucks 101, Hornets 94: Michael Redd scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Bucks past New Orleans at Milwaukee.
David West led the Hornets with 27 points and a season-high 18 rebounds.
Spurs 95, Raptors 90: Tim Duncan had a near triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Spurs over Toronto at San Antonio.
Cousin of Wallace killed
A cousin of Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was killed and a police officer was wounded in a shootout authorities said occurred after an undercover drug buy.
Tyree Wallace, 22, was pronounced dead at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Sgt. Mike Mitchell, 41, was in stable condition Friday with a groin wound.
Pistons spokesman Matt Dobek confirmed that Tyree Wallace was Rasheed Wallace’s first cousin. Rasheed Wallace did not participate in the team’s shootaround Friday morning, Dobek said. Wallace, however, was in the starting lineup for Friday night’s home game against the Golden State Warriors.
Around the league
Clippers forward Corey Maggette will be out at least four more weeks because the injury to his left foot is more serious than originally determined. … Los Angeles Lakers swingman Laron Profit had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left foot. He is expected to be out approximately four to six months, meaning it’s possible he could return late in the season.