Philadelphia 107, New Orleans 103

NEW ORLEANS, May 3 (UPI) -- Allen Iverson scored 45 points Friday night to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 107-103 victory over the New Orleans Hornets and into the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.

The fourth-seeded 76ers wrapped up the series in six games and await the winner of the series between Orlando and Detroit.

"To come back and win on the road after a disappointing fifth game, it really shows the character of this team," 76ers Coach Larry Brown said. "It's pretty amazing."

A three-time scoring champion, Iverson began and ended the series with offensive explosions. He scored a team playoff-record 55 points in Game One and - after making just 41-of-109 shots in the middle four games - took charge once again.

Iverson scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. After two free throws by Eric Snow pulled Philadelphia into a 101-101 tie with 2:29 remaining, Iverson sank a 21-footer from the left corner to give the Sixers the lead for good with 1:44 to go.

The teams traded empty possessions, but Keith Van Horn grabbed a key offensive rebound, and the Sixers again went to Iverson. From the top of the key, he lost control of his dribble, regained it, headfaked Baron Davis and elevated for a straightaway banker that silenced raucous New Orleans Arena with 10 seconds left.

"I got trapped," Iverson said. "I knew that Baron knew that I was going to shoot the ball. That's why I pump-faked him. I'm not one that usually pump-fakes the basketball, because sometimes I think my ego gets in the way. My teammates tell me I should pump-fake sometimes because people know that I won't do it. So on that play, I put my ego aside for that play and pump-faked him and got him off his feet. And I was able to get a clean look."

"That shot Iverson hit at the end was a miraculous shot - a bank shot from dead on," Hornets Coach Paul Silas said. "A big-time player stepped up."

Davis made a layup with 3.9 seconds to play, but Iverson was fouled with 2.6 seconds remaining and made both free throws to seal Philadelphia's fourth trip to the conference semifinals in the last five years.

"I don't know if too many teams can play as physical as these guys (Hornets) can," Iverson said. "This was a war. This reminded me of the wars back with the Indiana Pacers when we couldn't beat them."

Iverson made 14-of-30 shots, including four 3-pointers, and 13-of-18 free throws. It was his 10th career playoff game of 40 points or more.

Despite Iverson's outburst, the Sixers could not have won without the contributions of Van Horn and Monty Williams.

Van Horn, who had played passively at times in the series, collected 18 points and a playoff career-high 18 rebounds as he showed aggression on both ends.

"My focus coming in tonight was the long rebounds," Van Horn said. "I was focusing on the boards. Basically, that's what hurt us the last game. We got every key rebound tonight."

Williams, who was sidelined for much of the season with knee ailments, played solid defense in the fourth quarter on Jamal Mashburn, who scored a playoff career-high 36 points but just three in the last 10 minutes.

"I didn't shut him down," Williams said. "I was trying to stay on his left shoulder so he'd have to go right. I know he likes to come back and shoot off his right shoulder. So I just tried to stay on one side of him."

Davis had 21 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, who never have won a best-of-seven series, falling to 0-5.

Mashburn scored 21 points in the third quarter and the first basket of the final period, helping New Orleans open a 90-83 lead. But two free throws and a 3-pointer by Iverson gave Philadelphia a 94-93 edge with 7:18 left.

That was the first of five straight lead changes. Snow's steal and layup gave the Sixers a 98-97 lead, but a free throw by P.J. Brown pulled the Hornets into a tie and Davis made a 3-pointer for a 101-98 lead at the 3:54 mark.

Former Hornet Derrick Coleman scored 16 points for the Sixers, who shot 46 percent (37-of-80), held a 44-39 edge on the glass and made 26-of-32 free throws.

David Wesley scored 19 points before fouling out for the Hornets, who shot 49 percent (41-of-83) and made 14-of-23 foul shots.

"Every free throw that you take is crucial," Brown said. "It's a lot of missed free throws for a playoff game."

New Orleans used a 13-0 run to sprint to a 15-2 lead. Iverson rallied Philadelphia with 14 points in the remainder of the period, cutting the deficit to 31-25.

A lob from Davis to Jerome Moiso resulted in a dunk and a 51-39 lead with 2:49 left in the first half. Iverson's steal and layup beat the buzzer and capped an 11-4 surge that made it 55-52 at halftime.

"I just shot up there real fast, the ball was right there, and I was able to take it and put it in," Iverson said. "That gave us some momentum going into halftime."

Coleman scored nine points early in the third quarter as the Sixers opened a 63-58 lead before Mashburn took over.

"The guy has a broken finger and he was not going to be denied tonight," Silas said. "He kept us in there when we needed it."