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Monday, Apr. 9 7:00pm ET
Sixers win home-court throughout East playoffs

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia 76ers have home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. Now their sights are set on the best record in the NBA.

Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo had 18 rebounds and seven blocks for Philly on Monday.

Allen Iverson scored 37 points and Dikembe Mutombo added 12 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks as the Sixers beat the Boston Celtics 108-95 Monday night, clinching first place in the East.

The last time Philadelphia had the conference's best record was 1983.

"It's special," Iverson said. "We had a lot of bumps in the road. We stayed focused, we got it done. But it's only the first step."

The Sixers are one game behind San Antonio for the top record in the NBA.

Antoine Walker scored 26 and Paul Pierce had 23 for Boston, which fell 2 1/2 games behind Indiana for the final playoff spot in the East. The Pacers beat Washington on Monday night.

"It's a difficult loss, but it's not over yet," Walker said. "We just have to get our last four. We can't afford another loss."

Iverson, who returned after a two-game absence due to injury, hit four of his first six shots and scored 14 points in the first quarter. Iverson missed seven of the last 13 games with a small tear in a muscle near his left hip and a bruised tailbone.

"It's tough to really stop a guy like him, you just try to slow him down," Pierce said. "We didn't do much of that either."

The Sixers scored eight straight points to start the game and, except for an 11-11 tie midway through the first, they never were threatened.

Iverson hit a running 5-footer on his first shot and made three of his next five, but was 6-for-16 in the quarter. He finished 13-of-33.

Philadelphia took a 58-44 halftime lead following an 11-4 run. George Lynch nailed a jumper to start the run and closed it with a layup.

The Sixers took their biggest lead, 86-67, on a jumper by Iverson at the end of the third quarter. Philadelphia outscored the Celtics 10-2 to close the third.

Boston didn't get closer than nine in the fourth period.

"It doesn't mean anything to me right now," Sixers coach Larry Brown said about clinching the top seed in the East. "It's a tremendous accomplishment, but we won (two) series the last two years without having home-court advantage so I don't think we can take anything for granted."

In addition to Iverson, guard Aaron McKie returned from injury. McKie, who missed five straight with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, had 13 points and seven assists.

Eric Snow, advised last week to take five days off to heal tendinitis in his left ankle, remained in the lineup. He had eight points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Reserve center Matt Geiger, questionable after sitting out the second half of Friday's game with swelling in his left knee, had three points.

Game notes
Lynch left the game midway through the fourth after pinching a nerve in the right side of his neck and right shoulder following a collision. ... The Sixers swept the four-game season series against Boston and have beaten the Celtics six straight. Philadelphia hadn't swept a season series against Boston since 1977-78. ... On the bus to the arena, Celtics coach Jim O'Brien learned that his mother passed away Monday. O'Brien, who coached his first game at the First Union Center since taking over for Rick Pitino on an interim basis on Jan. 8, went to Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High School and St. Joseph's University. ... Pierce was 3-of-5 from the foul line after going 26-for-53 the last four games.

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RECAPS
Philadelphia 108
Boston 95

Detroit 81
Atlanta 69

New York 113
Charlotte 98

Indiana 100
Washington 78

Utah 96
Houston 81

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Allen Iverson blows past everyone on the baseline and hits the layup.
avi: 540 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Boston's Milt Palacio is denied in the lane by Dikembe Mutombo.
avi: 370 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

audio
 Allen Iverson says the road was bumpy, but the Sixers are at the top.
wav: 125 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6


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