Little Big Man

PHILADELPHIA —  Right in the middle of the playoffs an exhibition broke out.

At times this felt less like the third game of a first-round series between the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers and more like a celebration of all things Allen Iverson.

It wasn’t just his phenomenal play, which resulted in 37 points and 15 assists -- plus the usual assortment of faster-than-the-eye-can-see dashes and bumps and bruises -- that set this apart.

It wasn’t the roars of the Wachovia Center fans, who serenaded him with chants of “M-V-P” as he applied frosting to Philadelphia’s 115-104 victory with two free throws.

It wasn’t the affection displayed by teammates, such as the time Chris Webber wrapped his arms around him and lifted him off the floor after a late jumper put the 76ers ahead by nine points.

No, what really affirmed the special place Iverson holds in this league was the respect accorded him by the Pistons throughout the game.

After the slender, 6-foot Iverson picked up a foul while battling 6-9 Detroit muscleman Ben Wallace for a rebound, Wallace gave Iverson five on his way to the free-throw line.

“Allen’s a tough guy,” Wallace said. “He’s doing all the things for his team to win.”

Rasheed Wallace spent the night barking at the referees (he picked up a technical foul while sitting on the bench) and egging on the Philly fans, but showed nothing but love for Iverson.

After swatting an Iverson layup out of bounds, he simply turned away instead of unleashing a yell or his usual stream of trash talk. And as soon as the game ended, he walked up to Iverson and hugged him. Normally you don’t see that type of bonding until a series is over.

“That’s my man,” said Wallace, who also referred to Iverson by his childhood nickname “Chuck.” “Once we’re off that court, that’s my dog. But on the court, that rivalry’s there and just that camaraderie. He’s going to go at our neck, he knows that I’m going to go at their neck. But that’s my man.”

We all should pause to appreciate this season by Iverson. He won’t get a championship ring at the end of it, and he won’t have a most-valuable-player award to show for it, so all we can do is preserve it in the memory banks ourselves.

In his ninth season, he led the league in scoring with 30.7 points a game and was fifth in assists with an average of 7.9. Talk about getting it all done: He reached a career high in assists while producing the second-most points in franchise history.

He showed leadership on a team that started three players with two years or less of pro experience. He made those around him better.

He won’t get as many MVP votes as Shaquille O’Neal or Steve Nash, but this goes down as a better performance than Iverson’s MVP season of 2000-01, when he pushed the 76ers into the NBA Finals and gave the Lakers their only loss of those playoffs.

“He had a remarkable year [in ‘01], but I still think this is his best year,” said Piston Coach Larry Brown, who coached the 76ers in 2001. “He won the MVP and he was great the whole year. This year, he might not win it, but this is by far, in my mind, his best.

“They’ve got a young team. They’ve had so many changes. And then when you went down the last two months and every game was so critical, I think he even played better.”

Iverson was named Eastern Conference player of the month for April, when he had a 48-point game and a 38-point, 16-assist game as the 76ers won eight of 11 to secure the No. 7 playoff spot.

“He understands the game so much better,” Brown said. “I know that’s a growing process. I think he always had a will to win. The way they’re using him here, with the personnel they have, it’s a pretty good combination.”

Brown played Iverson at shooting guard in 2001, letting Eric Snow bring the ball up and initiate the offense. Now Iverson handles the ball on almost every possession and makes sure everyone gets involved.

Friday night it wasn’t just the flips to Kyle Korver for three-pointers or the bounce passes to Rodney Rogers. The way he earned his floor general’s stars was by consistently feeding Webber, even after Webber started the game by missing seven of his first nine shots.

Iverson has defended Webber in the media after the boo birds swooped in on him for his 39% shooting following his acquisition from the Sacramento Kings in a February trade.

In the game Friday, Iverson kept firing passes to him and Webber kept taking those 15-to-20-footers until he knocked down four of eight in the final quarter, giving him 19 points for the game.

Sitting in the same room where he once uttered the immortal word “Practice”, Iverson talked about his duties to the franchise and its players.

“We’re going to need each other,” Iverson said. “He’s a big part of our team. I think this is honestly the beginning of something good for this organization, for this city. What better way to start off a one-two punch than in the playoffs? I’ve got to trust him and he has to trust me.”

What Iverson understands more than ever is that he will be judged on the team’s success, and not just his numbers.

Even if form follows expectations and the Pistons pick up their 2-1 lead and win the series, Iverson will have won something this season. The smallest dominant player in the game today stands taller than ever.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.