PHILADELPHIA, March 6 (Ticker) -- Allen Iverson turned a defensive struggle into a personal offensive showcase.

Iverson scored 17 of his 46 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Philadelphia 76ers pull away for their 12th straight victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 85-76.

Iverson made 15-of-30 shots and 14-of-18 free throws as he reached 40 points for the 41st time in his career, eighth this season and third in the last four games. Philadelphia is 7-1 this season when its superstar guard scores 40.

"I'm not trying to score more points. I'm just playing basketball," Iverson said. "I'm just playing as hard as I can. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just playing my usual game. I'm going out there and working hard for as long as I'm on the court. If I'm able to score a lot of points then, so be it."

NBA TV highlights from Cavaliers-Sixers: 56k | 300k Allen Iverson scored 17 of his 46 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Jesse D. Garrabrant NBAE/Getty Images

The 76ers needed all of Iverson's points as it struggled to find scoring elsewhere. With forward Derrick Coleman and guard Aaron McKie sidelined by injuries, Philadelphia could not pull away from Cleveland until Iverson took over in the fourth quarter.

"You look down and you don't have Derrick and Aaron McKie, it's not easy," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "We had some funny lineups which is good."

The 76ers have not lost to the Cavaliers since April 2, 1999. In that span, Iverson has three 40-point games against them.

Lamond Murray scored 22 points and Wesley Person added 17 and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who shot just 36 percent (30-of-83) and have lost three of their last four games.

"I thought Allen Iverson, for the third time, beat us (by) himself," Cavs coach John Lucas said. "Tonight our bench didn't give us a lot. We didn't shoot the ball very well. We had our chances early in the fourth, but the physical play really bothered us."

In the final 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, Iverson had two baskets, four free throws and a steal, giving Philadelphia a 55-51 lead entering the final period.

After Cleveland's Ricky Davis opened the fourth quarter with a dunk off a lob pass, the Sixers used the defensive energy of reserves Speedy Claxton, Derrick McKey and rookie Alvin Jones to fuel a 12-0 burst. Iverson scored six points, including a jumper that made it 67-53 with 8:38 to go.

"We went with two rookies that gave us a lift in Speedy and Alvin and then, Allen was sensational," Brown said. "He really bounced back. But, I thought it was his one of his best defensive games as well."

"I've been satisfied with my defense lately even more so than with my offense," said Iverson, who leads the NBA in steals. "I've been getting up on guys and making them take tough shots; trying to get them to take tough looks. I'm trying to get them to take bad looks."

The Cavs fought back with seven straight points before Iverson took charge. Over the next three minutes, he scored seven points to build the lead to 77-60 with 4:11 remaining.

"We have to try to find a way, when teams start making runs, to execute on the offensive end," Person said. "I think sometimes we tend to start shooting the ball a little too quick. Once we start doing that, like tonight, it puts a guy in transition and tonight it broke the game apart."

During that stretch, Lucas was ejected for arguing with officials. Cleveland shot just 12 free throws, making eight.

"It's hard to win when you shoot 12 foul shots and they shoot 27," Lucas said.

Dikembe Mutombo had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who shot 45 percent (32-of-71) and made 19-of-27 free throws.

Andre Miller had 14 points and 13 assists and former Sixer Tyrone Hill added 10 and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who held a 44-40 edge on the boards.

Iverson scored 18 points in a plodding first half as the 76ers grabbed a 35-31 lead. Murray kept the Cavs in it with 16.

"I thought our defense was amazing," Brown said. "I've been watching Miller on tape and I thought Eric (Snow) did a great job on him. We had such a hard time scoring and they had 31 at the half. I thought we defended great."

After Hill made two free throws to open the scoring, Philadelphia scored the next 11 points and trailed for just 23 seconds the rest of the way. That was in the third quarter, when Murray's 3-pointer provided a 45-44 lead with 5:26 left. Mutombo answered with a dunk.