ORLANDO, Fla. – Allen Iverson scored 39 points, including a driving layup with 2.2 seconds to play, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-103 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Grant Hill, who led the Magic with 25 points, tied the game at 103 with a short bank shot, but he missed from 12 feet as the buzzer sounded.
Kyle Korver had 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Philadelphia, which shot 56.1 percent for the game.
Hedo Turkoglu had 15 points and nine rebounds and Dwight Howard finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who struggled all night to find a defensive answer for Iverson and Korver.
Iverson had 19 points and Korver had 15 in the first half when the Sixers were nearly unstoppable from the perimeter. Only 14 of Philadelphia’s 53 points came inside the paint and it helped the Sixers build as much as a seven-point lead.
The Magic stayed close by shooting 57.1 percent from the field to offset foul problems and 11 first-half turnovers. A three-point play by Keyon Dooling sparked a 9-0 run that helped Orlando cut the deficit to 53-52 at halftime.
Iverson hit his first five shots in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that gave Philadelphia a 69-60 lead. His streak ended when the 6-foot-8 Hill took over the defensive assignment. Iverson didn’t score again the rest of the period and the Magic used a 14-3 run to gain a 78-77 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Sixers went up 92-86 on a 3-pointer by rookie Rodney Carney with 7:15 left, but the Magic rallied again. A three-point play by Hill and 3-pointer by Turkoglu gave the Magic a 99-97 lead with 2:55 left.
The Sixers scored six straight points to go up 103-99 with 42 seconds to play, but a dunk by Howard and Hill’s driving layup tied the game at 103 with 12 seconds to play.
Notes: Korver was perfect in the first half, hitting all six shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, and both free throw attempts for 15 points in 14 minutes. … Orlando had 20 second-chance points to just four for the Sixers. … Magic reserve C Darko Milicic had 11 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. He picked us his fifth foul with 34 seconds left in the third quarter and didn’t return.
AP-ES-11-03-06 2205EST
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