NBA Iverson's 45 points leads 76ers past Hornets

Detroit defeated Orlando to force a Game 7 on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS -- It turned out Allen Iverson didn't need as much help as coach Larry Brown thought.
Iverson capped a 45-point performance by scoring Philadelphia's final six points -- including a key straightaway bank shot with 10 seconds left -- as the 76ers eliminated the New Orleans Hornets with a 107-103 victory Friday night.
Iverson's second-best offensive showing of the series came one game after coach Larry Brown said Iverson's teammates appeared too hesitant to shoot big shots and relieve some of the pressure on the Sixers' leading scorer.
Several other Sixers had solid games -- Keith Van Horn with 18 points and 18 rebounds, Derrick Coleman with 16 points and Kenny Thomas with 10.
Jamal Mashburn, playing his second game with a chipped bone in his right middle finger, scored 36 to lead New Orleans, which was hurt by 14-for-23 free throw shooting, missing five of eight in the final period.
Baron Davis added 21 points for New Orleans but missed substantial chunks of time because of foul trouble. David Wesley added 19 points, but fouled out while struggling to guard Iverson.
Pistons 103, Magic 88
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Detroit Pistons are back from the brink of elimination and humiliation.
Chauncey Billups scored 18 of his career-high 40 points in a decisive first quarter, and the Pistons defeated Orlando to even their first-round playoff series and set up a Game 7 Sunday in Detroit.
Billups shot 7-of-14 on 3-pointers, including all five tries in the first period when Detroit seized a lead it would never relinquish. Billups entered the game shooting 14 percent (4-for-28) from behind the arc.
Richard Hamilton added 22 points, and Ben Wallace had his fourth double-double of the series with 20 points and 17 rebounds while also blocking five shots.
By snapping a 12-game road playoff losing streak, the Pistons moved one win away from becoming only the seventh team in NBA playoff history to avoid elimination after falling behind 3-1.
Also, Detroit would dodge the ignominy of being ousted by a No. 8 seed, which has happened only twice before -- by the Miami Heat in 1999 and Seattle in 1994 -- since the NBA went to a 16-team format in 1984.
The game was marred by 63 personal fouls and took 2:49 to complete.
Orlando shot 39.5 percent, missing 16 of 18 3-point attempts, and turned the ball over 17 times for 17 points. The Magic have failed to top 40 percent shooting three times this series, all losses.
Tracy McGrady had 37 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, although he looked increasingly fatigued as the game wore on. Playing 47 minutes despite tendinitis in both knees, McGrady shot 11-for-28, 1-of-6 on 3s, and scored only six points in the fourth quarter.
Gordan Giricek scored 12 points while Drew Gooden added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The first quarter went according to the series' trend, with Detroit knocking the Magic back on their heels.
The Pistons sank six straight shots in a 19-6 run to grab a seven-point edge after Orlando jumped out to an 11-5 lead. Billups' last salvo of his long-range bombardment, a long 3 with 5 seconds remaining, gave Detroit a 30-21 lead at the quarter's end.
Orlando missed 11 straight shots in a stretch that lasted into the second quarter, and Detroit went up 34-22 with 10:04 remaining on Hamilton's turnaround jumper as the shot clock wound down.