The Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed a great March, and it got them in the playoffs.
Allen Iverson scored 14 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the 76ers clinched their fifth straight playoff berth by beating the Orlando Magic 118-113 Monday night.
"It's such a huge win for us,'' Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said. "It caps off a big month for us where we had 12 road games and four home games and ended up going 11-5, which is pretty special.''
Added Iverson: "It's good to know we're in (the playoffs) because the East is so crazy. You lose a couple of games here or there, and you go from in to out.''
The 76ers won for the fourth time in five games, and for the fourth straight time on the road, to move a game ahead of idle Indiana for third place in the East. Philadelphia also kept pace 1{ games behind New Jersey for the Atlantic Division lead. The Nets beat Houston 110-86 Monday.
Kenny Thomas had 24 points and 20 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the last six games, while Derrick Coleman added 18 points and 13 rebounds. Philadelphia had a 61-38 advantage on the boards, including a 24-12 margin in the final quarter and overtime.
"The Magic spread out and have a lot of people on the perimeter, so if they miss you should have a good chance to get the rebound,'' Brown said.
That's exactly what happened, as Orlando shot 29 percent (8-for-28) on 3-pointers.
"You look at the numbers and they're staggering,'' Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "We held a team to 43 percent shooting with 26 offensive rebounds, so what it tells you is that you played great defense initially but you kept giving them the ball back and they kept scoring.''
For Orlando, Tracy McGrady had 39 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Steven Hunter came off the bench for a season-high 15 points, plus seven rebounds and five blocks -- both career bests.
Gordan Giricek scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half for Orlando, while reserves Darrell Armstrong and Pat Garrity both added 13 points. The Magic bench had a 44-8 edge over Philadelphia's.
Orlando's primary centers, Shawn Kemp and Andrew DeClercq, combined for two points and one rebound in 19 minutes.
"I love our big men to death, but we've got to do something,'' McGrady said. "We can't allow a team to outrebound us by 23.''
Eric Snow had a putback dunk to open overtime, but McGrady countered with a free throw and turnaround jumper to give Orlando a 113-112 lead with 3:22 to go.
Iverson then hit two jumpers and Snow had two free throws as Philadelphia scored the last six points of the game. Orlando shot 1-for-6 in overtime, and 10-for-30 after the third quarter.
"I told our guys in the locker room that we just played playoff basketball -- and we didn't pass the first test,'' Rivers said.
The Magic have lost all four of their overtime games this season.
Philadelphia trailed 107-97 with 3:31 remaining following McGrady's three-point play -- Orlando's fifth of the final period.
But Coleman hit a jumper and 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, kicking off a game-tying 13-3 run. Snow's jumper with 32.9 seconds to go tied the game at 110. Snow had 16 points despite shooting 3-for-11.
Both teams missed opportunities to win in the closing seconds of regulation. On the final three possessions, McGrady missed a short runner, Thomas had Iverson's pass squirt through his hands and Jeryl Sasser missed a floater as time expired.
Sasser, a 32-percent shooter, wasn't supposed to have the ball but Philadelphia's defense did an excellent job of denial on McGrady. And with 1:12 left to play, the 76ers forced Orlando into a backcourt violation on another inbounds play.
"It's a dilemma and something we have to solve,'' Rivers said.
Game notes
Philadelphia center Samuel Dalembert has had consecutive practices with contact but there's no indication when he'll return, coach Larry Brown said. Dalembert has missed the entire season following left knee surgery in October. ... The last season the 76ers did not make the playoffs was 1997-98, Brown's first year in Philadelphia and Iverson's second. ... The 76ers lead the NBA in steals, with 10.18 per game. Against Orlando, they had nine. ... The game was a sellout, Orlando's fifth of the season.
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