Philadelphia won three of four games on its recent road trip to move within 4 1/2 games of the eighth seed.
Sunday night's 108-105 victory over the Nuggets gave the Sixers three wins in four games to close out their annual holiday road trip.
With a favorable upcoming schedule that features five of their next six games at the Wachovia Center, starting tonight against the Wizards, and each of the next seven opponents with losing records, the Sixers believe they still have a chance to salvage something from this disappointing season.
"We're just beginning to go uptown," said Sixers coach Eddie Jordan after improving to 10-23. "You never know where this can take us. We hope it gets us going."
Although they're 13 games below .500 and tied for second-to-last in the 15-team Eastern Conference, the Sixers are only 4 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff position.
They used strong second halves to down the Trail Blazers and Kings by double digits last week before a 16-point New Year's Eve drubbing against the Clippers.
The Sixers bounced back three nights later to build a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter vs. Denver, which was without injured stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, then stumbled down the stretch and had to hang on. The Sixers missed three free throws in the final 15.6 seconds and were outscored 18-8 to close out the evening.
"We just stuck with it and buckled down," Jordan said. "The will to win was at an all-time high."
The Sixers, who are 4-10 at home this season, will need to get continued production from their bench. The reserves accounted for 53 points vs. Denver two games after scoring 42 in outlasting Sacramento.
Different backups are getting it done for the Sixers.
Sub Rodney Carney scored a season-high14 points and went 4-for-5 from 3-point land against the Kings after accounting for a total of 11 points on 0-for-12 shooting beyond the arc in the previous 11 games.
Jason Smith chipped in seven points in eight second-half minutes vs. the Nuggets after going scoreless in his seven prior outings.
"You just have to be ready at any time," Smith said Sunday. "I just gave energy and played as hard as I could."
Reserves Jrue Holiday (plus-17), Willie Green (plus-13) and Smith (plus-10) had the Sixers' highest plus-minus totals in the game.
Meanwhile, Elton Brand has settled into his sixth-man role and is giving the Sixers consistent scoring. He's averaging 18.5 points and shooting 31-for-55 (56.4 percent) from the field over the past four games.
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Jordan said on Sunday that he expects the Sixers to keep Allen Iverson for the remainder of the season. They could choose to waive Iverson, whose contract isn't guaranteed until later this week, and avoid having to pay him for the final three months of 2009-10, though that seems unlikely.
"That's safe to assume (Iverson will be back)," Jordan said. "He's added a lot to us, on the floor and off the floor. He's helping our young guys."
The 34-year-old Iverson is averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 assists and 33.2 minutes in nine games with the Sixers. They are 4-5 with Iverson and 6-18 without him.
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