PHILADELPHIA, March 28 (UPI) -- Gilbert Arenas made a three-pointer and running layup in the final 90 seconds Friday night, allowing the Golden State Warriors to hold on for a 102-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that kept their playoff hopes alive.
The Warriors saw a 25-point lead cut to 87-75 entering the fourth quarter and had no one providing any offense besides the 5-5 Earl Boykins. He scored 10 of his 23 points in the final period.
The 76ers pulled within two points three times, including at 97-95 with 1:40 remaining on a driving layup by Aaron McKie.
Arenas was practically the only Warrior who did not have a hand in their blistering first half. Having missed nine of his first 10 shots, Arenas pulled the trigger on a three-pointer that gave Golden State a 100-95 lead with 1:26 to go.
Keith Van Horn answered eight seconds later with a three-pointer, again making it a two-point game. Philadelphia's Eric Snow fell out of bounds with one rebound and Boykins ran down another before Arenas drove the left side and banked in a runner for a 102-98 lead with 17 seconds left.
Van Horn missed two free throws and Snow missed a three-pointer, allowing the Warriors to improve to 2-1 on their critical five-game road trip.
Antawn Jamison scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half for Golden State (36-37), which began the night 2 ½ games behind Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Allen Iverson had 28 points and 10 assists for the 76ers, who are 2-3 since posting a 15-2 mark coming out of the All-Star break.
