BOSTON -- The regular season could end the way it began for the Philadelphia 76ers -- without Allen Iverson or much hope of success.

	Iverson

The NBA scoring leader is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a broken left hand suffered in the first quarter of the 76ers 96-91 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Philadelphia, currently sixth in the East, has 26 days and 14 games left with a 4½-game lead on Washington, which is ninth in the race for the Eastern Conference's eight playoff spots. The question now for the 76ers is whether they can hang on for one of those spots and have a shot at their second straight trip to the NBA finals.

They're 36-32 overall, 2½ games behind third-place Boston (39-30), but just 0-8 in games Iverson has missed. That includes an 0-5 start to the season when last year's NBA most valuable player was recovering from right elbow surgery.

His latest injury is a broken bone below the left index finger of his non-shooting hand.

"The kid is playing as good as anyone in the league," Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said. "You just don't replace him. We've all got to do a great job."

Iverson began Friday's game as the NBA leader in points (31.5), minutes (44) and steals (2.8) per game. He played only 24 minutes against Boston, all in the first half, and still led the 76ers with 22 points.

It was the 54th time in the 60 games he's played that he was his team's top scorer. His toughness could hasten his return.

"He would shoot with his left hand in a sling," Brown said.

He shot pretty well after his hand was broken, apparently when he was fouled by Tony Battie 4:50 into the game. Iverson scored 20 points after being hurt and kept the 76ers close enough to launch a successful second-half comeback.

"He was telling me the whole half: `It's broke, it's broke.' He kept saying it," Philadelphia's Eric Snow said. "He probably could have fought it out and kept playing, but why? I mean, go out there and make it worse?"

Iverson, a 40 percent field goal shooter, hit seven of 12 shots and went 3-for-5 from 3-point range. He also had three assists and three steals before leaving at halftime for X-rays that showed the injury.

The 76ers didn't seem to miss him as Speedy Claxton moved into his spot and scored seven of their first 15 points in the second half. That gave them a 60-56 lead midway through the period.

Not bad for a team that trailed 50-45 at halftime and didn't take its first lead until Claxton hit a driving layup that made it 54-53 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

"Their star player goes out, other players want to step up. It's their time to shine," Boston's Kenny Anderson said.