Out of answers?(Philadelphia Seventy-sixers)

With injuries mounting and Allen Iverson wearing down, the 76ers find themselves in a familiar tough spot against the Bucks

In a neighborhood near the First Union Center in Philadelphia there are rows of houses constructed with an interesting blend of building material.

The houses are half red brick, half gray stone and feature a triangle of siding above each front door. Each house is connected to its neighbor, creating a shared existence in a world of common walls. These living spaces are solid and strong. In that regard, they aren't much different than the 76ers, the team that plays its home games a short car ride away.

The Sixers managed to reach the Eastern Conference finals despite having to deal with a series of hurdles that would have toppled most teams. Every time an injury to a starter knocked a wall out of the Sixers' structure, the team has had an answer. The exterior has remained strong.

When point guard Eric Snow went down with an ankle injury early in December, Aaron McKie stepped in. When All-Star center Theo Ratliff broke his wrist in February, he was traded to the Hawks for another All-Star, Dikembe Mutombo. When forward George Lynch broke his foot in the second round of the playoffs, Jumaine Jones filled the gap.

But there are answers, and there are Answers, and when Allen Iverson sat out Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Bucks, the Sixers were out of both. Without Iverson, who was nursing a sore tailbone, Philadelphia lost Game 3 and entered the week trailing in the series, 2-1. But even in their deepest hole of the season, the Sixers were unfazed heading into Game 4.

"I think (it's) our heart and our determination," McKie says. "We've got to go against the odds all the time, and when you're forced in that situation you want to do everything in your power and try to will your way into doing things maybe other people think you can't."