76ers top Heat to prevent sweep

The sweep for the Heat was 95 seconds away. Miami held a six-point lead and had The Big Three on the court and a bevy of clutch plays behind them.

All the 76ers had was their unwavering belief.

When they told coach Doug Collins in the huddle late in the game, "We're going back to Miami," his reply was a simple one. Said Collins, "I'll be there with you."

Lou Williams proved the 76ers right, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer from the top of the arc over Dwyane Wade with 8.1 seconds left to help host Philadelphia earn an 86-82 win over the Heat Sunday.

Williams' three came 28 seconds after Jrue Holiday stunned Wade with a three that sliced the deficit to one. It was all part of a game-ending 10-0 run that sent nearly 20,000 fans into a frenzy.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Miami. The Heat leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.

"D-Wade gave me a little room and I was able to knock it down," Williams said. "We've always been a team that fought, all the way until the end. I just wanted to give us an opportunity to win the basketball game."

Wade's tip-in with 1:35 left put the Heat up 82-76. Miami trailed by double-digits in the first quarter, only to storm into the lead on the backs of LeBron James (31 points), Wade (22) and Chris Bosh.

The 76ers kept the resolve they've had since they turned a 3-13 start into the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. But they staggered down the stretch and won for only the second time since April 2.

Williams' celebration after his go-ahead three was muted. He calmly walked back to a delirious huddle as if he expected to swish the winner all along.

"We've proven all year long that we were able to close those types of games out," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We were not able to tonight."

Said James, "We're not going to hang our heads all the way to the ground about it."

Williams and Evan Turner had 17 points each for the 76ers.

Hawks 88, Magic 85: Former Knick Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and Joe Johnson hit four big free throws in the final 20 seconds as host Atlanta took a 3-1 lead over Orlando.

Atlanta made only 12 of 20 free throws, but Johnson came through when the Magic was forced to foul. Orlando had a last chance to tie it up, but Al Horford knocked the ball away from Hedo Turkoglu as he tried to get loose for a three-pointer. Turkoglu got the ball back but had only enough time to force one up, and it missed badly.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 29 points and 17 rebounds but also had eight turnovers. Gilbert Arenas, who didn't even play in Game 3, added 20 points.

Hornets 93, Lakers 88: Chris Paul had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 19 points for host New Orleans, which tied the series at 2-2. Paul found Jarrett Jack for a jumper that gave the Hornets a 90-86 lead with 9.3 seconds left. Kobe Bryant had 17 points and eight assists for the Lakers.