PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson and Larry Brown had their moments this season. At times, it seemed as though the kid with the cornrows and the traditional, bespectacled coach would never work out their differences.

They finally did, just in time to send the Philadelphia 76ers to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

For a franchise like the Sixers, this is cause for a major celebration. And the Sixers had one on Saturday night -- a full house, a stellar performance by Iverson and signs of another successful turnaround orchestrated by Brown.

``I think we've got the best player in the league, and I think we've got the best coach,'' said team president Pat Croce, who put on a playoff T-shirt and became a human handshake machine after the Sixers clinched their first playoff berth since the 1991 with a 103-96 victory over Toronto.

Although Croce is given to hyperbole, there is no denying the extent of this basketball revival. The Sixers have seen some of the grimmest moments in NBA history, including the 9-73 record in 1972-73 that is the league's worst ever.

Philadelphia has been through a lot of lean basketball seasons since Charles Barkley, Andrew Toney and Rick Mahorn led the Sixers to the playoffs eights ago.

``Back then, they didn't have a direction,'' said Mahorn, who left the Sixers after their last playoff season and returned this year. ``Now they have a direction of not only making the playoffs, but making sure we can get in there and do some damage.''

The Sixers won only 18 games three years ago, the year before they picked Iverson No. 1 in the draft. Last year, they hired Brown to rescue them from laughability.

``Pat gave me an opportunity that I wasn't real excited about, to be honest with you,'' said Brown, who twice led the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals before taking the Sixers job in 1997.

``I wasn't excited about coaching this team,'' Brown said. ``So maybe from where we were to where we are now, it feels as good as any situation I've ever been in.''

But when Brown started having problems with Iverson, the franchise player, it seemed as though one of them would have to go.

Iverson and Brown frequently criticized each other in their first season together last year. Brown griped about Iverson's missed practices, ill-advised shots and less-than-stellar defense. Iverson railed that his coach wouldn't give him enough freedom.

Late in the year, Brown moved Iverson to shooting guard. He still took too many shots, but offered a preview of the kind of havoc he can wreak when free to sprint all over the floor and look for shots.

``Everybody knows I'm the scorer on this team,'' Iverson said.

But just when they seemed to be getting along, Iverson and Brown had another meltdown. Iverson cursed Brown as the coach tried to put him back into a game against Cleveland on April 2, and Brown sent him back to the bench. Iverson didn't make a road trip to Toronto, and it seemed as though the two would have to part ways.

On Saturday night, Iverson scored 31 points and didn't mind one bit when Brown took him out for a curtain call with 19 seconds left. Iverson pointed to the crowd and applauded them, then thanked Brown.

``He's been great,'' Iverson said. ``He's the reason all of us have put it together.''

Iverson is in a tight race with Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring title, and he is starting to get recognition from the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving in his bid for an MVP trophy. For the second time in a week, Iverson heard ``MVP! MVP!'' chanted for him at the First Union Center.

Even Brown is touting him for it now.

``I think Allen's made great progress,'' Brown said. ``He's been here three years and he didn't make the All-Star team. I mean, he didn't even get a sniff. Now the crowd is responding to something, and it's a possibility.''

If the Sixers could get back to the playoffs, anything is possible.