Iverson Hurting, So Are the 76ers

Boom, 13 seconds later Ray Allen made a jump shot. Twenty seconds later he followed with a three-point basket after a 76er turnover.
With 2:10 left in the game, Allen Iverson, wobbling with pain in his hip and his butt, finally made a shot after missing 11 in a row. The triumph was clear on Iverson's face. The 76ers were within 10 points again, 66-56. Maybe, just maybe . . .
Boom, 14 seconds later Allen made another three-point basket. The First Union Center emptied faster than Dodger Stadium in the seventh inning. Allen gave a little nod to the empty seats as he sat down to savor his 38 points and the Bucks' 92-78 victory over Philadelphia in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The series is tied at a game apiece and moves to Milwaukee for Game 3 Saturday. Things are not well for the 76ers.
Coach Larry Brown, who brought the crowd to a frenzy when he was presented with a trophy honoring him as coach of the year before the game, solemnly assessed the health of Iverson, the player of the year.
"He's hurting bad," Brown said. "I'd like for him to stay home and miss the next game so he can get some rest. But I'll get overruled on that."
Maybe not.
Since scoring 52 points against the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the conference semifinals, Iverson has shot 29% from the field and made only 31 of 112 shots. Thursday night, he was five of 26 and missed all eight shots from three-point range. His 16 points were as many as he scored in the second quarter of the 76ers' victory on Tuesday.
"If [the injury] is not getting worse, I'll keep playing," Iverson said. "But now, when it's getting worse, I've got to think [about not playing]. This is my dream, the Eastern Conference finals. I've hurt a lot this season but I've never had to play this season with an injury like this. Last time I had this injury, I sat out five games."
Iverson has a deeply bruised hip and tailbone that has bothered him for weeks. It got worse in Game 7 Sunday against the Raptors when Iverson took a hard fall.
"He's standing like an old man," Allen said of Iverson. "He's holding his back when he's standing. He's holding his tailbone when he walks. There's a lot of guys throughout this whole league that, with injuries like this, sit down. I give Allen kudos for being able to do it."