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Celtics drop 76ers
Paul Pierce scored 27 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, and the Boston Celtics moved closer toward clinching the Atlantic Division title with a 105-98 victory over second-place Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Philadelphia holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, one game behind Cleveland and one game ahead of New Jersey.
Antoine Walker had 18 points and Ricky Davis scored 16 for Boston, which saw a 5 1/2-game lead in the division slip to two games since March 19.
Back in the lineup after missing one game with two sprained thumbs, Iverson was 9-for-21 from the field and had 11 assists.
Chris Webber, returning after missing five games with a sprained left shoulder, wasn't a factor, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds.
Pierce broke a 98-all tie with an 18-footer with just under one minute left. After Marc Jackson missed a short jumper, Gary Payton's free throw gave the Celtics a 101-98 lead.
Jackson missed another jumper and Payton iced it with two free throws with 19 seconds left.
Walker beat the shot clock with a fallaway baseline jumper that gave Boston a 96-93 lead with 3 minutes left. After Payton stole Iverson's pass, Pierce made two free throws to extend the lead.
But Jackson answered with a jumper and Iverson made a layup off a long pass from Webber to cut it to 98-97. After Pierce missed a layup, Webber made one free throw to tie it at 98. He missed three free throws in the fourth quarter.
The Sixers had won the first three meetings against Boston.
Iverson had five assists before taking his first shot, a successful driving layup with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
A 13-0 run by Boston early in the second quarter put the Celtics ahead 38-33. Al Jefferson had six points during that stretch, including consecutive driving layups.
The Sixers answered with a 10-0 run later in the quarter, taking a 49-44 lead. Jackson had eight of the 10 points, four on free throws. Philadelphia led 54-50 at halftime.
Fueled by the presence of Iverson and Webber, the Sixers opened the game with a 13-2 run, capped by a dunk from Samuel Dalembert off an alley-oop pass by Iverson.
Celtics guard Delonte West, who helped Saint Joseph's to a No. 1 ranking during the 2003-04 season, didn't play because of a thumb injury. West chatted with Hawks coach Phil Martelli courtside before the game. ... The Sixers are 12-10 since acquiring Webber, including 9-8 with the five-time All-Star in the lineup. ... Philadelphia hasn't swept a season series against the Celtics since 2000-01. ... Sixers coach Jim O'Brien got a technical foul in the final minute of the third quarter after Iverson went down hard on a driving lineup and didn't draw a foul. ... Boston attempted 49 free throws to 30 for Philadelphia. The 40 free throws made by the Celtics were the most against the Sixers this season.
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