Allen Iverson 40 point games | #23 | 43pts vs Chicago Bulls [2001-01-17]

Allen Iverson got hot and the Chicago Bulls went cold. Iverson scored 43 points, heating up after he was flagrantly fouled, and the Philadelphia 76ers held the Bulls without a basket for over nine minutes in the second half of a 99-88 victory, their fourth in a row. Iverson made 15-of-25 shots as he continued his latest scoring binge. Since returning from a one-game absence due to a partially dislocated right shoulder, the All-Star guard is averaging 33.8 points over 11 games. During that stretch, Iverson has scored 40 or more five times and the Sixers have won each game. Philadelphia is 11-11 when Iverson scores at least 40 points, including 5-1 this season. "He playing at an extraordinary level right now," said Sixers coach Larry Brown, who clinched his first All-Star coaching berth in 24 years. "He's had an amazing run. He realized we were struggling. He stepped it up and guys followed suit." "I'm playing better that I was at the beginning of the season," Iverson said. "Anything better than what I was playing at the beginning of the season, when we won 10 in a row, is all right with me." The Sixers' 12th victory in 13 games came against the league's worst team, which has dropped six straight but did not go down without a fight. Chicago (6-32) held the lead late in the third quarter but went 9:09 without a basket and lost to Philadelphia (29-9) for the sixth consecutive time. "Guys in the league got pride and we have an `X' marked on our chest," Iverson said. "Everybody wants to come out and beat this team, to get some confidence for their team. Guys who are having a losing season come in here and if they beat the Sixers, then they get a bit of confidence, something to wake up for the next day." Theo Ratliff scored 12 points and Aaron McKie added 11 for the Sixers, who shot 48 percent (34-of-71) and held the Bulls to just 37 percent (32-of-86). After scoring 27 points in the first half, Iverson cooled off in the third quarter and the Sixers lost the lead before regaining it for good at 75-73 on Kevin Ollie's layup with 34 seconds left. Philadelphia took a 77-74 lead into the final period and scored the first 10 points. Iverson had six, including a weaving drive through defenders for a layup and an 87-74 advantage with 6:39 to go. "Iverson has a terrific night," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "We didn't do a poor job on him. I just thought he really had it going offensively. We need to get him to drive more to the basket because he had his shot going." With 5:23 left, a hook by Elton Brand, who had 24 points and 19 rebounds, ended an 0-of-15 drought by the Bulls that included four turnovers. Bryce Drew added a jumper, but Iverson answered with a 3-pointer for a 90-78 lead with 3:48 remaining. "We had some terrific defensive sequences in that last 14 minutes," Brown said. "We went through a seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter that killed us offensively," Floyd said. "We've had offensive troubles in the fourth quarter, but they were much different tonight. It was a case of open shots that didn't go down and they seemed to get every defensive board." Drew scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Michael Ruffin grabbed 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who held a 47-37 edge on the glass. Chicago was without guard Ron Artest, who sat out with tendinitis in his right foot. With just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, Iverson appeared to be going in for an uncontested layup when he was hacked on the arm by Fred Hoiberg and knocked hard to the floor. "I went up to dunk the ball and out of nowhere he just snatched me out of the air," Iverson said. Iverson refused assistance from Hoiberg and got up favoring his right knee. Hoiberg was called for a flagrant foul and Floyd drew a technical foul for arguing. "Fred came up to me," Brown said. "I coached Fred Hoiberg (in Indiana) and there is no way he would ever try to hurt anybody. Allen was up in the air and it was just an unfortunate thing. He felt terrible about it. He told me and I told Allen." An angry Iverson made 2-of-3 ensuing free throws and scored 17 points in the quarter, which ended with Philadelphia holding a 55-51 lead. In the first half, Iverson shot 9-of-14 from the field, 8-of-9 from the line and reached his average with 27 points. "I feel like it kind of woke me up," Iverson said. "When you get knocked to the floor like that, no matter who you're playing, you'll wake up automatically. It got my attention and I really need to concentrate on what I was doing on the floor even more, being hurt." In the first quarter, Brown turned to talk to a player and wrenched his back. He left the bench for treatment but quickly returned.