PHILADELPHIA — Allen Iverson, the homecoming king, stood in the bathing spotlight in the center of the pitch-black arena.
Everybody stood. Goose bumps popped. Cheers showered. Denver’s Iverson, the homegrown hero, was back in Philadelphia, the first time introduced as an opponent.
His eyes burned.
“I was holding my head up, so the teardrops couldn’t fall,” said Iverson, who played a here for over a decade.
In Denver’s 115-113 loss to the 76ers, which started with an emotional pre-game introduction, Iverson had the ball in his hands in the waning seconds, like something out of a script. Down two, He wanted to shoot a 3-pointer. But the clock was ticking and he saw an opening, so he heaved long 2-pointer — which bounced off the rim.
But the ball landed in teammate Marcus Camby’s hands with 5.7 seconds left, and he snapped a 7-foot jumper. It missed, too. The rebound was tipped near Denver’s Linas Kleiza, but was ripped away by the 76ers” Andre Iguodala, who dribbled out the clock.
“It almost ended up perfect,” Iverson said.
The night will always be remembered as Iverson’s homecoming. But, for now, it was just another road loss that Denver needed to win. Yes, the 76ers (34-34) are playing inspired basketball, winners of 16 of their past 20 games. But Denver is still ninth in the West, scrapping for that coveted eighth and final playoff spot. And after Detroit shot 60.4 percent on Tuesday, Philadelphia shot 60.3 percent on Wednesday, which was Denver’s eight loss of its past nine road games.
“We’re beating ourselves with the windows of poor defense,” Denver coach George Karl said. “As I tried to explain to them this morning — the energy it takes on the road is a little bit more.”
Denver (40-28) did cause 21 Philadelphia turnovers, but the 76ers dominated the glass, 44 rebounds to Denver’s 34.
Andre Miller, the former Denver guard who was in the trade for Iverson, turned 32 on Wednesday, and scored 28 points with a game-high 12 assists.
“I’ve never seen him play this good,” Karl said.
Iverson was drafted by the 76ers in 1996, led them to the NBA Finals in 2001 and was traded to Denver in 2006. He scored a game-high 32 points, along with a team-high eight assists. He also hit a clutch 3-pointer, with 1:07 left, to tie the game at 113.
It was a night he had anticipated all season.
It began an hour and a half before tipoff, when he entered Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center through the West loading dock, where he was instantly surrounded by a full-court press of video cameras and flashbulbs.
While he walked into the visitor’s locker room for the first time ever, each step documented by this makeshift paparazzi. Meanwhile, walking about 15 feet behind Iverson, Carmelo Anthony went unnoticed.
The sellout crowd of 20,674 came early to catch a glimpse. They stood during the pregame layups, snapping photos on phones to send to envious friends. They even mobbed Iverson’s mother, Ann, for autographs or snapshots. Of the evening, she said, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Few athletes have a connection to a community like Iverson to Philly. He was one of them. He is a gritty, blue-collar fighter — a Rocky, if you will — who plays hard because he knows of no other way.
After the emotional, eye-watering pregame introduction, Iverson hopped toward the 76ers bench, where he greeted the assistant coaches and Maurice Cheeks, the head coach he once endorsed, but ultimately detested.
“Looking back on it, I wish I didn’t react the way I did,” said Iverson, who was alienated toward the end of his tenure with Philadelphia. “But when you have marriage and you get divorced, it’s not peaches and cream. You’re not the same way you were when you met, when you got married. But I feel like — I still ‘have kids’ with this organization. . . . I wanted to tell him it was time to move on.”
Now, 15 months since the trade, Iverson has indeed moved on. He is the leader of a team fighting for its playoff lives.
He is perpetually in the spotlight.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
