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ATLANTA (AP) _ Allen Iverson shook off a sore elbow to continue his season-long scoring spree against the Atlanta Hawks.

Then he turned his attention to Philadelphia's stretch run for home-court positioning in the opening round of the playoffs.

``It's just important to get home-court advantage,'' Iverson said Friday night after scoring 27 points to lead the 76ers to a 104-92 victory over the Hawks. ``We play so well at home.''

The Sixers currently hold the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, one game in front of the Charlotte Hornets. Philadelphia returns home for games against Detroit and Indiana before closing the regular season on the road at Chicago next Tuesday night.

Iverson, who said he thinks Philadelphia can match up well with any team in the playoffs, noticed his ailing elbow during the team's practice before Friday's game.

``I didn't think I was going to be able to play,'' he said. ``I don't know how I hurt it.''

The pain was from synovitis, an inflammation of the lining of a joint.

``It still won't straighten all the way out,'' he said. ``I just wanted to play.''

Tyrone Hill had 20 points and 10 rebounds, reserve Matt Geiger added 18 points, and Theo Ratliff had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third in a row and fifth in six games.

Jason Terry had 20 to lead the Hawks, whose season-high ninth consecutive defeat saddled them with 53 losses, the most in franchise history. Dikembe Mutombo added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta.

``We didn't play defense,'' Ratliff said. ``We were taking it for granted and not pressuring the ball. It led to them being better players than they are.''

The Sixers build a 21-point lead in the third quarter, but had to fight off an Atlanta comeback that saw the Hawks cut the lead to seven points twice in the final quarter.

``This late in the season you get up by 20 and you tend to relax,'' said Toni Kukoc, who had 12 points and seven assists. ``The most important thing now is to win games and get home-court advantage.''

Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens finally saw a glimmer of hope in his team's long losing streak. It came from Terry.

``It's the first time in a long time I thought Jason just took over,'' Wilkens said. ``And that's how I want him to play. I think he's capable of playing that way. I've been pushing him lately because I feel he needs to get up to that level.''

``I just wanted to try to be in control tonight and not try to do too much,'' Terry said.

Notes: Iverson was the leading scorer in each of the Sixers' four victories over the Hawks this season, getting 31, 25 and 30 in the three previous wins. ... It was the first time since the 1990-91 season that Philadelphia swept the season series from the Hawks. ... Mutombo's 41 minutes of action pushed him over the 25,000 mark for his career, up to 25,025.