By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Allen Iverson scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and tied his career high with 15 assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame a horrendous shooting performance by the NBA’s leading scorer to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 96-89 Sunday.

Iverson, who entered shooting 42.1 percent and averaging 30.5 points, shot 2-for-20 in the first three quarters and 5-of-28 overall along with 10-of-14 from the foul line.

The win was the third straight for the 76ers (35-34), who raised their record above .500 for the first time since they were 4-3.

The Lakers (32-37) committed a season-high 27 turnovers in losing their eighth straight game – their second-longest losing streak since they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960.

Andre Iguodala added 18 points and nine rebounds, Chris Webber had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Marc Jackson also scored 14 points, and Samuel Dalembert had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers.

Kobe Bryant scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and also had 10 rebounds and five assists.

Spurs 83, Rockets 70

SAN ANTONIO – Brent Barry hit three 3-pointers during a 21-2 run in the fourth quarter to help the San Antonio Spurs rally for a 83-70 win over Houston on Sunday, the Rockets’ lowest-scoring game of the season.

The Rockets, who trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, went ahead 60-55 on a 23-foot jumper by Tracy McGrady with 10:31 left in the game. The basket was the last of the game for McGrady, who finished with 26 points.

Barry tied it at 60 with 8:07 remaining with his first 3-pointer. Then the Spurs’ defense took over, swarming the ball and collapsing on Yao Ming. Yao also had only one basket in the final quarter.

T-wolves 89, Clippers 85

MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Garnett had 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 89-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Garnett struggled for the second straight game, making just 8-of-24 field goals. Sam Cassell scored 16 points off the bench to help Minnesota win its fourth straight game.

The Timberwolves point guard, hounded by injuries all season, made a 3-pointer off a Garnett pass with 2:03 left to put the Wolves up for good, 83-80, then returned the favor by feeding Garnett inside for a lay-up with 1:30 to play.

Wizards 95, Sonics 94

SEATTLE – Larry Hughes scored 31 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, to lead the Washington Wizards to a 95-94 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday night.

The loss kept the Northwest Division-leading Sonics from clinching a playoff berth and ended their five-game winning streak.

Ray Allen had 27 points to lead Seattle.

Kwame Brown gave the Wizards a 95-92 lead with 54.4 seconds left with a pair of free throws after being fouled by Nick Collison.

Seattle’s Damien Wilkins scored on a layup after getting an offensive rebound with 37.4 seconds remaining to make it 95-94.

Gilbert Arenas of Washington was called for an offensive foul for charging into the Sonics’ Antonio Daniels with 16.7 seconds left and Seattle had one last chance.

But Hughes, the NBA’s steals leader, stripped the ball away from Allen. The Sonics got the ball back on the play, but Daniels’ last-ditch desperation 3-point attempt was far short as time expired.

Hughes had two steals of Allen and scored on fast-break dunks in the final quarter when the Wizards went on a 9-0 run for an 89-80 lead with 4:42 left.

Hughes, whose season high is 33 points and career best is 44, shot 12-for-28 from the field and had 11 rebounds. Arenas added 18 points and Etan Thomas added 15 for Washington, which beat Seattle for the second time this season.

The Wizards held the Sonics to 17 points in the third period and were up 75-67 heading into the final quarter.

The Sonics led by eight points in the first quarter, but the Wizards got 3-pointers from Steve Blake and Hughes in the final 1:09 of the second quarter in taking a 56-50 lead at halftime.

The Sonics played without veteran power forward Danny Fortson, who was suspended for Sunday night’s game for refusing to enter a game against New York Friday night.

Notes: Fortson will not accompany the Sonics on their two-game road trip to Memphis and San Antonio next week because he’s recovering from a sprained left ankle. … Wizards starting F Antawn Jamision missed his seventh straight game because of tendintis in his right knee. He’s on the injured list and isn’t expected to play for another week. … The Wizards put C Brendan Haywood on the injured list with a fractured tip of his left thumb and activated C Peter Ramos. Ramos was on the injured list with plantar fascitis.

AP-ES-03-27-05 2250EST