Allen Iverson had 23 points and a career-high 16 assists to help the 76ers sweep the season series against Cleveland with a 103-98 victory Friday night and leapfrog the Cavaliers into seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Samuel Dalembert had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and Marc Jackson scored 24 points for the Sixers. Chris Webber missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left shoulder.
Iverson sprained both his thumbs against the Cavaliers and said it affected his shot all game. It was hard to tell when Iverson hit a jumper with 8.5 seconds left that gave the Sixers a needed cushion.
"As soon it left my hand, I knew it was good," said Iverson, who shot 9-for-30.
"Even with my hand hurting the way it was, I tried to let it go and not think about the pain."
LeBron James scored 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers and Drew Gooden added 24 points and 12 rebounds.
"We're still in the playoffs right now, so we just have to keep fighting," James said.
The fading Cavs have lost three straight and five of six, and the Nets are 1 1/2 games back of the eighth seed in the East.
Pistons 114, Magic 102
In Orlando, Florida, Tayshaun Prince scored 26 points, Chauncey Billups added 23 and Detroit beat Orlando for its fifth straight win.
The Pistons also closed in on their third Central Division title in four years, reducing their magic number to three.
Rasheed Wallace scored 22 points for Detroit, while DeShawn Stevenson scored 25 points for the Magic.
Before the game, Orlando announced Grant Hill's sore left shin will sideline him for the rest of the season.
Raptors 109, Hawks 101, OT
In Toronto, Jalen Rose scored 30 points, and Toronto handed Atlanta its 14th straight loss.
Morris Peterson added 26 points and 14 rebounds while Rafer Alston finished with 21 points and eight assists for the Raptors, who narrowly avoided being embarrassed by the Hawks for the second time this season.
Predrag Drobnjak scored 21 points to lead the Hawks, who beat Toronto on March 11 for their lone victory in their last 28 games.
Grizzlies 97, Heat 81
In Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Miller led the Grizzlies with a season-high 30 points, and Memphis dominated the inside against a Miami team missing Shaquille O'Neal.
The Grizzlies, who are battling the Minnesota Timberwolves for the eighth and final Western Conference spot, also used accuracy from long range to build a 30-point first-half advantage. Memphis, which hit its first five 3-point attempts, led 60-35 at the half.
O'Neal missed his second straight game with a stomach ailment. Dwyane Wade had 16 points to lead the Heat, who shot 38.7 percent.
Pacers 93, Wizards 83
In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller scored 18 points to help Indiana beat Washington for its season-high sixth straight win.
Stephen Jackson had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Anthony Johnson added 14 points for Indiana, which moved into a tie with Washington for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Larry Hughes had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Kwame Brown scored 16 points for the Wizards, who lost their fourth straight game.
Bulls 102, Knicks 94
In New York, Ben Gordon scored 22 points and Kirk Hinrich added 20 to help Chicago eliminate New York from the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Stephon Marbury had 29 points for the Knicks, who lost their ninth straight game.
Adrian Griffin had 16 points and Antonio Davis added 12 for the Bulls, while New York's Jamal Crawford finished with 22 points on 8-of-22 shooting against his former team.
Jazz 98, Hornets 87
In New Orleans, Matt Harpring led Utah with 28 points to help thwart a late rally by New Orleans.
New Orleans overcame a 14-point, second-half deficit to take an 85-84 lead before Harpring took over. He scored eight straight points, sparking a 10-0 Utah run that put the Hornets back in a nine-point hole with just under 2 minutes left.
J.R. Smith scored 18 for New Orleans, while reserve David West added 15 points.
Bucks 93, Bobcats 75
In Milwaukee, Desmond Mason scored 21 points and Marcus Fizer added a season-high 18 as Milwaukee downed Charlotte.
Michael Redd chipped in 17 points in his return from a leg injury.
Primoz Brezec had 20 points and 12 boards for Charlotte, which lost its seventh straight.
Nuggets 107, Timberwolves 104
In Minneapolis, Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points, and Andre Miller had 22 points and 15 assists to help Denver deal a serious blow to Minnesota's playoff hopes.
Minnesota, which finished with the best record in the Western Conference last season and eliminated Denver in a first-round playoff series, fell 4 1/2 games behind seventh-place Denver and 3 1/2 behind eighth-place Memphis in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.
Kenyon Martin added 24 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 27-6 under George Karl and won for the 20th time in their last 22 games.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Wolves.
Kings 119, Trail Blazers 115
In Portland, Oregon, Peja Stojakovic had 35 points and Sacramento beat Portland to clinch its seventh-straight playoff appearance.
Mike Bibby added 19 points and 11 assists for the Kings, who controlled their own destiny after Minnesota lost to Denver 107-104 earlier.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Darius Miles returned after missing three games to score 23 points for the Blazers.
Warriors 127, Suns 119
In Oakland, California, Mickael Pietrus hit six 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 28 points, and Golden State matched a franchise record with 18 3-pointers to down Phoenix.
Amare Stoudemire scored 44 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Suns, who lost for the first time in seven games.
Mike Dunleavy had 28 points, including five 3s, as the Warriors extended their longest winning streak since 1994. Jason Richardson also scored 28 points for the Warriors, while Baron Davis fell one rebound shy of his fifth career triple-double with 15 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds.
Lakers 117, SuperSonics 94
In Seattle, Kobe Bryant scored 42 points and Caron Butler matched a season high with 31 for the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat Seattle for their second win in 15 games.
Bryant showed no effects of the bruised right shin that forced him to miss a game earlier this week. With his lower leg heavily wrapped, he shot 15-for-22 from the floor, rebounding from a 4-for-19 effort in Thursday's loss to Houston.
Ray Allen scored 30 points for Seattle while Nick Collison had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Five Indiana Pacers players charged in one of the worst brawls in US sports history will be tried separately.
A judge Friday granted the National Basketball Association players' request for separate trials on misdemeanor assault and battery charges so they would not be called as complaining witnesses at the same trial in which they are defendants.
Lawyers for the five -- Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Johnson and David Harrison -- contended there was a risk the players would be called to testify in a way that could be self-incriminating.
Two other defendants, spectators William Paulson and John Ackerman, were granted requests that they be tried together, but separately from the other defendants in the case stemming from the Nov. 19 brawl during the NBA game between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.
Judge Lisa Asadoorian said the two remaining defendants -- David Wallace, brother of Pistons center Ben Wallace, and John Green, the fan who prosecutors say sparked the brawl by lobbing a drink that struck Artest -- would be tried together. Wallace and Green did not ask for separate trials.
No players or fans facing charges were at Friday's hearing.
The brawl started after Ben Wallace shoved Artest following a hard foul. After they were separated, Artest was doused with the drink, rushed into the stands and began beating a man he thought had thrown it at him.
Some teammates joined him in the stands and also fought with fans on the court.
A fan charged with throwing a chair pleaded no contest last month and is expected to be sentenced next month. Three other fans were sentenced to probation on charges of walking on a court or throwing objects.
Yao Ming and aids
Chinese NBA player Yao Ming stars with Lakers legend Magic Johnson in a TV public service announcement released Saturday in Hong Kong that urges people not to fear or discriminate against those with AIDS.
The 30-second clip opens with Johnson -- diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS -- scoring for the Lakers with a behind-the-back layup.
Johnson is later shown playing a game of one-on-one with the Houston Rockets center as both men push against each other and exchange high fives.
Johnson says, "I have been living with HIV since 1991."
Yao says in Mandarin, "Hugging, shaking hands or eating together will not transmit HIV.
"Don't be afraid. Don't discriminate. Please show you care for people living with HIV/AIDS and learn more about HIV/AIDS prevention."
On the Net:
www.aids.gov.hk
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
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