PORTLAND, Ore. — Elton Brand had a season-high 25 points and nine rebounds in a reserve role, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 104-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Brand, a 6-foot-9 former All Star, made 9 of 20 shots in 30 minutes to help Philadelphia (8-22) rally from a 10-point second half deficit.
Allen Iverson, who missed the past four games with a knee injury, returned to the lineup as a starter and scored 19 points. Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert and Marreese Speights scored 14 points each for the Sixers. Iguodala also had seven rebounds and nine assists.
Brandon Roy led Portland (20-13) with 24 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Portland, which had won four consecutive games, all against teams with winning records, shot just 42.2 percent (35-of-83) against Philadelphia. The Sixers shot 57.7 percent from the field, hitting 45-of-78 shots.
Portland controlled the second quarter to take a 49-43 halftime lead. The key stretch came midway through the quarter when, with the game tied 36-all, Roy and Dante Cunningham combined to score nine unanswered points to give the Blazers a 45-36 lead.
Portland stretched its lead to 61-51 midway during the third quarter before Philadelphia made its move. The Sixers went on a 13-4 run, then capped the quarter when Royal Ivey hit a buzzer-beating 22-footer to give Philadelphia a 77-73 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Sixers continued their surge into the final period, outscoring Portland 40-17 over a 13-minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 91-78 lead with 6:05 left in the game.
Notes
Philadelphia has won three straight and five of six over the Blazers. Iverson, acquired by Philadelphia on Dec. 5, is averaging 16.1 points in six games with the Sixers. Since Nov. 11, Philadelphia is 4-18. Roy has scored at least 23 points in 13 consecutive games. It is the longest active streak of 20-point plus games in the NBA. Portland shot just 5-of-15 from 3-point range against Philadelphia after hitting 16-of-32 3-pointers its past two games.