Thaddeus Young’s layup with 2 seconds left lifts Sixers over Magic 96-94

Young’s layup lifts Sixers over Magic 96-94

PHILADELPHIA — Thaddeus Young shook off some rust and avoided a menacing defender to hit the biggest shot of his life.

Young’s driving layup with 2 seconds left lifted Philadelphia to a 96-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night, giving the 76ers a surprising 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

“That’s the biggest shot ever for me,” said Young, who went around Dwight Howard to score. “I wasn’t having a good game, but I was able to come back. I held my ground and kept my poise and knocked down the biggest shot of the game.”

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday night at the Wachovia Center. The Sixers, who stumbled into the playoffs with six losses in their last seven games and a 41-41 record, are two wins away from their second playoff series victory since Allen Iverson led them to the NBA finals in 2001.

Howard had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who won 59 games during the regular season. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 29 points, though he missed two free throws in the final minute. Andre Miller added 24 points and Young had six.

“We were badly outplayed for 30 minutes,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’re lucky to even be in the situation we’re in.”

Orlando, which blew 18-point leads in the first two games, nearly overcame a 17-point deficit in this one.

Howard’s two free throws tied it at 94, but Young took a pass near the baseline and drove hard to the basket. He nearly lost possession, held onto the ball, went around Howard and dropped in a left-handed shot to send the crowd into a frenzy.

“They gave me my left side and everybody knows what happens when I go left,” Young said. “They gave me my dominant hand and Dwight challenged me a little bit and I spun back and made the shot.”

Said Howard: “I was expecting a jump ball or something, but he just made the shot. It hurts.”

Lewis’ desperation heave at the end missed and the Magic suddenly found themselves in a tough spot in a series everyone expected them to win.

Instead, it’s the Sixers who are finding ways to hit the big shots at the end. Iguodala drained a 22-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift the Sixers to a 100-98 victory in Game 1. Orlando held on for a 96-87 win in Game 2 after its big lead was cut to five points late in the fourth quarter.

“That was a great win for us,” Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said. “They made their push and we kept our poise and kept battling and made some big plays down the stretch.”

LeBron James had 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, leading visiting Cleveland to a 3-0 lead in its first-round series.

The Pistons played hard for three-plus quarters before being rendered helpless by James, who had an alley-oop slam midway through the fourth quarter during an 18-2 run that started after the sixth tie of the game.

James had help, getting a career playoff-high 19 points and 10 rebounds from Joe Smith, and 13 points from Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Richard Hamilton had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Rodney Stuckey contributed 12 points and five assists for the Pistons.

Luis Scola scored 19 points, Houston’s defense bottled up Brandon Roy, and the host Rockets beat Portland to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Shane Battier added 16 points and the Rockets got away with a quiet night from Yao Ming to beat the Blazers for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings in Houston. Game 4 is Sunday at the Toyota Center.

Roy, who scored 42 points in Portland’s 107-103 win in Game 2, had 19 points, but went 6-for-18 from the field. Steve Blake scored 16 and had 10 assists, and Rudy Fernandez sank five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Blazers, who trailed by 17 in the second half before rallying in the final quarter.