Sixers' Iverson, Lakers' Bryant still an intriguing matchup

These are the moments Kobe Bryant relishes.

Philadelphia isn't just another stop on a long Los Angeles Lakers road trip. This includes the annual visit to Lower Merion High, then listening to the cheering and jeering from the Wachovia Center crowd. And this trip suddenly became a trip down memory lane, a battle with the 76ers' Allen Iverson.

Witness an almost mystical third quarter of what became a 99-91 Lakers victory. Iverson, 1-for-5 in the first half, went for 15 points, hitting six of seven shots from the floor. Bryant, 1-for-7 in the first half, dropped in five of seven and scored 14.

Bryant, 31, the No. 4 scorer in the NBA, finished with 24. Iverson, 34, who didn't join the Sixers until Dec. 2 as a free agent, had a season-high 23.

Like old times.

Asked about Iverson before last night's game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said: "Obviously, he's a great athlete and some of his skills have diminished, but at this point I don't think that there's that big a difference between the last 3 or 4 years. But 12-14 years ago, this guy could take off at the foul line and finish at the basket, that's how explosive he was."

This was just Iverson's 21st game in his second stint with the Sixers. He came in averaging a modest 14.5 points, spending more time distributing the ball, helping the younger players, keeping center Sam Dalembert involved. This was, in the natural order of things, supposedly less of an event than usual.

"It's the natural process of aging, and the way it goes," Jackson said. "Allen's moved a couple spots - Denver, Detroit [and Memphis]. Now he's back home again."

But just like that, it became an event.

"It was like back in the day," Bryant said. "It was exciting to see him get hot like that."

And when Iverson did heat up, Bryant asked to guard him.

"It was like 2001 all over again," Bryant said, recalling the Finals of that season.

Sixers assistant Aaron McKie said any time the teams meet, there will be heightened interest.

"The difference between then and now is, back then both teams were in the hunt and there was more to it," McKie said. "It became a measuring stick when they came East or we went West. We were playing for something, and they were playing for something. There were a lot of implications."

Still, McKie said it was important to understand that "Kobe and Allen have always been different players, getting it done different ways. In football, Allen would be a scatback, running around. Kobe is more cerebral, trying to find ways to pick guys apart."

He added: "Now, Allen has to do it more with a team effort. He has to rely on his teammates, on guys giving him help and not feeling as if he has to put a cape on and put everything on his shoulders."

In the midst of all of this, Bryant found something he had not anticipated.

"Tonight was the first time I ever got goosebumps when they said 'from Lower Merion High,' " he said. "I think because, as you get older, you get more and more nostalgic. You're older, you start reminiscing about where everything started. It kind of creeps into you a little bit."