It was the Sixers' sixth straight win overall.
By matching their longest winning streak of the last two seasons, a six-gamer in November 2005, the Sixers closed to within 4 1/2 games of Orlando for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Bryant, who visited his alma mater, Lower Merion High School, earlier in the day, scored 30 points and shot 12 of 27 from the field. But he rolled up 21 of those points in the first 16 minutes, 7 seconds of the game.
Certainly, Bryant looked ready to have a big game to make up for the one he missed Wednesday night in Milwaukee because of a one-game suspension he received for hitting Minnesota's Marco Jaric in the face.
But Bryant went only 3 of 14 in the second half and scored nine points. So Iguodala, who used to sacrifice his own offense just to focus on guarding Bryant, outscored him not only in the second half (by 19-9), but also in the game.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and put some pressure on him," said Iguodala, who made 11 of 18 shots from the field. "You spend so much energy guarding him, you kind of forget about offense. I wanted to attack the basket and give us a spark in the third quarter because we were down" at halftime.
Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, who was told earlier this week by president and general manager Billy King that he would be back next season, said Iguodala was "energized" last night, but not just because Bryant was playing opposite him.
"He's been playing like that for a while," Cheeks said. "I think it's the way Andre's maturing has been going. I think it has nothing to do with Kobe Bryant, although he is one of the top players in the league. I think Andre is trying to take his game to another level."
