Three NBA series can end Friday night

PHILADELPHIA, May 2 (UPI) -- Three NBA teams can experience the joy of advancing to the next round Friday night in their best-of-seven series.

The three teams are Philadelphia, Orlando, Dallas, who can close out New Orleans, Detroit, and Portland, respectively.

The fourth-seeded 76ers visit the New Orleans in Game Six of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Jamal Mashburn returned from a finger injury to score 21 points, and George Lynch victimized his former team with 12 of his 16 in the fourth quarter as the Hornets stayed alive with a 93-91 victory Wednesday.

The Sixers would have preferred the extra rest to take care of some bumps and bruises. Allen Iverson (lower back stiffness), Derrick Coleman (left hand swelling), and Tyrone Hill (illness) all missed practice Thursday, but are expected to play.

Iverson scored 30 points and Keith Van Horn ended a series-long slump with 21 for the Sixers, but both players wasted chances in the final seconds to provide a tie or lead.

"The opportunity was there, but we didn't get it done," Iverson said.

The eighth-seeded Magic can advance to the East semifinals for the first time in seven years with a win over the Pistons, who staved off elimination with a 98-67 home-court rout on Wednesday.

It was Orlando's worst playoff loss since a 99-64 pasting by Miami in the first round on April 24, 1997.

"They can't take them points that they won by and add it to the next game," said Orlando guard Darrell Armstrong. "Zero-zero when you start out (next)."

Orlando is trying to become the third No. 8 seed to topple a top seed. Only the 1994 Denver Nuggets and the 1999 New York Knicks have upset a No. 1 seed since the NBA playoffs expanded to its current number of teams in 1984.

Detroit has lost 12 straight road playoff games since a 93-80 win at Atlanta in Game Two of a first-round series in 1997.

The third-seeded Mavericks can reach the West semifinals for the third straight year with a win at Portland, which stayed alive with a 103-99 victory at Dallas on Wednesday. The Trail Blazers are trying to become just the third team to even a series after losing the first three games.

The others were the 1951 New York Knicks, who lost in seven games to the Rochester Royals in the NBA Finals, and the 1994 Nuggets, who lost in seven to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals.

The winner of the Dallas-Portland series advances to face second-seeded Sacramento, who advanced Wednesday by knocking off the Utah Jazz in five games.