Football
19y

Korver's 3 with 0.4 left forces OT, but Philly runs out of gas

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Quiet forward P.J. Brown remained calm after
Philadelphia's Kyle Korver made an unlikely 3-pointer at the buzzer
to send the game to overtime.

Brown, known primarily for defense and rebounding, responded by
scoring six of his season-high 20 points in the extra period,
sending the New Orleans Hornets to a 99-95 victory over the 76ers
on Friday night.

"I was tired, I was ready to go home and I said, 'I'm going to
make these shots," Brown recalled.

Brown suspected he'd be left open and that guard Dan Dickau, who
finished with a career-high 16 assists, would find him.

"Dan did a great job and kicked it to me for nice rhythm
shots," Brown said. "I'm kind of underrated because I don't score
a lot of points. Scouting reports say if I'm open I can hit the
shot but you're not going to pay a lot of attention to me."

Dickau also scored 19 points, and Brown finished with a pair of
free throws in the final minute to seal the Hornets' fourth victory
in five home games.

The Sixers were playing without NBA-leading scorer Allen
Iverson, who missed his second straight game with a strained left
shoulder. Corliss Williamson led Philadelphia with 20 points,
playing 39 minutes after Kenny Thomas hurt his nose late in the
second quarter.

"We've played several games without Allen this year, so that's
something we can't worry about," Williamson said. "We knew two
days ago that he wasn't going to be able to play tonight, so
there's no excuse for us not being prepared. This is the NBA and
sometimes superstars go down, sometimes you have two or three
players out, but you should still be able to play through that
regardless of who's out."

The wild finish to the fourth quarter came after J.R. Smith's
3-pointer gave New Orleans an 82-76 lead with 2:37 to go.

Andre Iguodala scored inside for the 76ers, sparking an 8-0 run
that was capped by Willie Green's pull-up jumper, putting the
Sixers up 84-82 with 19.3 seconds left.

The Hornets committed their 23rd turnover and Chris Andersen
missed two free throws during the Sixers' surge, and it appeared
New Orleans was on the verge of a late collapse. But Dickau found
Casey Jacobsen in the corner for a 3 with 5.7 seconds left, and
after Green's missed jumper, Lee Nailon was fouled on the rebound
and made both free throws with 0.4 seconds left.

The New Orleans crowd, on its feet and primed to celebrate a
victory, then stood stunned as Korver took an inbounds pass along
the right sideline and put up a 3 in one motion that went through
at the buzzer.

The referees ruled it good but needed several minutes to review
the video. Korver had released the ball in time and the call stood,
sending the game to overtime tied at 87.

Brown's jumpers started a 7-0 run in overtime that was capped by
Jacobsen's second 3 to make it 96-89 with 1:01 to go.

"Obviously, the dagger was Jacobsen's shot that put them up.
That really hurt," 76ers coach Jim O'Brien said.

Smith finished with 15 points for New Orleans and Nailon 14.

Green had 18 points for the Sixers, while Korver had 16,
including five 3s. Iguodala had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and
Samuel Dalembert scored 10 points.

New Orleans shot 61 percent in the first half and led nearly all
the first two periods, finishing the second quarter on a 6-0 run
that started with Smith sneaking under the hoop to grab Dickau's
airball and lay it in. Bostjan Nachbar hit a 3-pointer to give New
Orleans a 54-43 lead at halftime.

But New Orleans got sloppy to open the second half, committing
five turnovers in the first 3:20 of the third period. The 76ers
opened with a 10-0 run capped by Korver's fourth 3-pointer, cutting
the lead to 54-53.

Game notes
The Sixers are 0-4 without Iverson. ... The Hornets placed
G Baron Davis on the injured list for the second time this season,
this time with a bruised right Achilles' tendon. Davis, who has
missed 25 games, missed a 19-game stretch spanning part of November
and December with an inflamed disc in his lower back. Placing Davis
on the injured list allowed the Hornets to sign Junior Harrington
to a 10-day contract. Harrington was in uniform and got into the
game in the first half. ... Thomas left after getting hit so hard
in the nose he crumpled to the floor near the Hornets' basket.
X-rays were negative, but Thomas did not return.

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