Not having a starting frontcourt was not a problem for the Philadelphia 76ers. All they needed was Allen Iverson.

Iverson scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 assists, leading the undermanned Sixers to a 100-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

"Just put me on the floor with four warriors," Iverson said. "My whole thing is to get down and dirty, scar my knees, get banged-up and get right back up. When guys see that, they feed off it."

Mark Jackson scored 16 and Aaron McKie added 14 for Philadelphia, which won its second straight despite missing starters Kenny Thomas (back), Glenn Robinson (ankle) and Derrick Coleman (knee).

Tim Duncan had 35 points and 15 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Tony Parker had 19 for San Antonio. The NBA champions had won two straight since Duncan and Parker returned from ankle injuries.

"Two of our perimeter guys were 2-for-15 and Manu was 7-for-18, it's a bad combination to be making mistakes and not putting the ball in the hole," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

After Duncan missed a 16-footer, Iverson gave the Sixers a 94-88 lead on a superb driving, one-handed runner in traffic with 1:16 remaining.

San Antonio didn't get closer than three the rest of the way.

"I'm really proud of our guys for hanging in there with a limited squad," Sixers coach Randy Ayers said. "It starts with the veterans. They kept us together. They supply the leadership."

Iverson scored nine in a row for Philadelphia at one point in the fourth and 13 of 15. His short jumper gave the Sixers an 86-81 lead, and a basket by Samuel Dalembert off a pass by Iverson made it 88-81 with 3:57 left. The Spurs scored seven of the next nine to get within 90-88 on a fast-break layup by Parker with 2:13 remaining.

Iverson missed seven of his first eight shots and finished 12-for-27.

Duncan, the two-time MVP, started slow but came on strong late in the second quarter and into the second half. He scored 14 straight points for the Spurs at one point, including their first nine points in the third.

Duncan briefly left the game after hurting his left foot while going for a rebound late in the third. The Sixers cut an eight-point deficit to three with Duncan sitting out the final 2:35 of the third.

"They made a lot less mistakes," Duncan said. "We turned the ball over, missed wide open shots. We let them break us down."

The Sixers, who trailed the entire second and third quarters, took a 73-72 lead early in the fourth on consecutive driving layups by McKie. Five straight points by Iverson extended the lead to 78-73.

The Spurs missed 15 straight shots over a stretch of 7:44 from late in the third until Ginobili made a driving layup with 7:54 left to cut Philadelphia's lead to 78-75.

Game notes

Eagles All-Pro safety Brian Dawkins was in the crowd. Dawkins, returning this week from an ankle injury that has sidelined him since the season opener, received a standing ovation in the second quarter. ... Dalembert made a nice move to spin around Duncan then missed a dunk in the second quarter. ... Ayers got a technical for arguing a traveling violation on Eric Snow in the second quarter. Snow was pushed to the floor by Bruce Bowen. ... Sixers rookie Kyle Korver made two 3s for his first career field goals. He got a standing ovation after fouling out midway through the fourth. ... The Spurs had 20 offensive rebounds and 51 overall.