For the week leading up to the start of the 76ers' playoff series with Boston, the burning question was: Would he or wouldn't he?
Would Allen Iverson be back from the fractured metacarpal bone in his left hand that kept him out of the final 14 games of the regular season?

Yesterday, the question was: Did he or didn't he?

As the Sixers prepared for Game 2 of their best-of-five, first-round series, did Iverson practice or didn't he?

Sadly, all that question did was beg more questions.

The Sixers told reporters that Iverson, who played 36 minutes in Sunday's 92-82 loss at the FleetCenter, did not practice because of "cold symptoms.'' Reporters are privy to only the final portion of practice, generally when the players are walking through shell or shooting drills or working on individual skills.

During the portion of practice open to the media yesterday at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion, Iverson sat on a folding chair on the sideline taking therapy on his left hand. But later, during the interview sessions, when Iverson heard that he was being described as not having practiced, he angrily asked the source of that information.

Told by reporters that the information had come from the team's public-relations department - and having that confirmed by a member of that staff - he referred to the source as "a damn liar.''

Well, did he or didn't he?

"I practiced, I just didn't do any contact,'' Iverson insisted.