PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Allen Iverson might expect the standing ovation that awaits him when he returns to Philly for the first time in 15 months. What should amaze him is how the team he left in tatters when he was traded is set for a postseason berth for the first time in three seasons.

After all, the Sixers are even surprising themselves.

Picked to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia (33-34) instead is playing its best basketball of the season and earned a comfortable hold on the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Sixers entered Monday only one game behind Washington for the sixth seed and are two games in back of Toronto for fifth with 15 games left. They hold a 4-game lead on Atlanta and New Jersey for eighth place.

“I think we still are surprising people, but I think they understand we come to play every night,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “Some of the things that we’re doing, it is kind of surprising.”

Last week’s 4-1 record included road wins against Milwaukee, Central Division-leading Detroit and a gutsy comeback at Chicago. The 76ers rallied from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to upset the Bulls on Friday, then returned home the next night and knocked off the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

Philadelphia’s one loss came to the NBA-best Boston Celtics, and they managed to tie that game at 44-all after opening the game in a 15-0 hole.

“We try and keep the pressure on teams every night,” Cheeks said.

Cheeks admits that it’s natural to watch the scoreboard and check for results of the teams ahead of Philadelphia in the standings. The Wizards’ games have even been on the big screen in Philadelphia’s locker room after the game, with the players openly rooting for them to lose.

“You can’t help it,” Cheeks said.

The Sixers are chasing their first playoff berth since 2005 and are within a game of .500 for the first time since they were 2-3 on Nov. 9. Philadelphia is 17-6 since Jan. 26 and has won nine of its last 10 at home.

“You’re talking to someone who’s been optimistic about the Sixers since the end of last season,” chairman Ed Snider said. “I didn’t buy into all the negativity that existed prior to the season. I’m extremely happy, but it’s even further than I expected.”

Up ahead for the Sixers is a date with Iverson and the Nuggets on Wednesday night. And how’s this for good karma? When Iverson returns, his Nuggets will be the ones making a run at a playoff berth in the Western Conference and needing all the wins and outside help they can get.

“I don’t think you can ever count out a team with Allen,” Sixers center Samuel Dalembert said. “We know what he’s all about and what he’ll want to show the Philly fans.”

When Iverson was here in his prime, winning the MVP and leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals, he usually played in front of sellout crowds. The Sixers were near the bottom of the league in attendance this year until they sold out against the Celtics and drew nearly 20,000 against the Spurs. They’re expected to pack the Wachovia Center again for Iverson’s return.

“It means a lot to us that we were able to win the fans back,” guard Willie Green said. “When you’re losing, you’re not going to have a lot of people watching. As you start to win, play hard, play the game the right way, the fans are going to come more and more and that’s what happened.”

Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Rodney Carney not only give the Sixers a solid nucleus for the future, but they’re bringing energy and big buckets late in the game to make them winners. Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller are both having strong seasons, and Miller is coming off a season-high 32-point effort against the Spurs while playing with a strained lower back.

“He understood the part of us needing his offensive game,” Cheeks said. “We need him to teach the young guys how to play, get them easy baskets, and also we need him to score the ball.”

Iguodala, who turned down a $57 million extension at the start of the season, is doing his best to prove he’s worth the boffo bucks. He leads the Sixers with 19.8 points, is second with 4.6 assists, and is trying to silence all the critics who said he can’t be a true No. 1 star.

“Not many people can score, rebound, pass, defend and do all those things in one package. He does it all,” Cheeks said. “The way he’s capable of playing, the things he’s capable of doing, it’s pretty special.”

After the game against the Spurs, Iguodala dressed and wore a chain with the initials “A.I.” The Sixers can only hope this is the start of matching the success they had with the old one.

AP-ES-03-18-08 1322EDT