Sixers win on Young's shot at end

Andre Miller had nowhere to go, so he went to Thaddeus Young.

He went to Young, even though Young hadn't scored in more than an hour, hadn't done much all game.

But on this last possession, over the biggest big man in the NBA, Young drove baseline, lost the ball, regained it, spun to his left, and scored over Dwight Howard.

It was this bucket, his second of the game, that gave the 76ers a 96-94 win over the Orlando Magic tonight the Wachovia Center.

The basket came with 2.2 seconds remaining and the Magic, without a time-out, could only manage a half-court heave by Rashard Lewis.

"It doesn't matter if I had a bad game or not, I had the winning shot, and that's what counts," said Young, who finished with just six points.

A few seconds earlier, Howard had made two free throws to tie the game, which looked destined for overtime.

The win gives the Sixers a 2-1 lead in this first-round, best-of-seven series. The series stays in Philly: Game 4 is Sunday night.

Through 21/2 quarters, the Sixers looked ready to score every time Orlando couldn't, ready to defend when Orlando didn't, ready to rebound when Orlando wouldn't.

You could scan your eyes right to left across the Wachovia Center floor or up and down the post-game box score, the same thing was revealed both places: Tonight, the Sixers were better than the Magic.

Andre Iguodala, 29 points, was better than Hedo Turkoglu, 11. Miller, 24 points, was better than Rafer Alston, 17.

And the 16,492 in attendance tonight at the Wachovia Center, most wearing their give-away white T-shirts, brought enough noise in the final possessions to make it sound like a sellout.

The only Orlando player to play better than his reputation was Howard, who finished with 36 points and 11 boards.

For much of the first half, many of the Orlando players, even their scorers, looked like passers and not shooters. The exception was Howard, who secured the basketball, waited for his cutters to cut, then swooped to the rim.

Orlando's offense appeared to be in preseason, not postseason, form. Howard scored 15 first-half points.

Without his numbers, Orlando was 10 for 25 from the field with 35 points. Without a 16-for-18 performance from the free-throw line, the Magic scored only 33 points and trailed the Sixers, 60-49, at halftime.

Ten Sixers scored. They were led by forward Andre Iguodala (16 points) and point guard Andre Miller (15).

Iguodala displayed an array of shots. He hit a three-pointer, a couple of mid-range jumpers, a driving dunk, all five of his free throws, and a lefty slice to the basket.

Miller's righthanded, dip-and-drive just before the first-half buzzer gave the Sixers their 11-point halftime lead.

For the first time in three games, Sixers center Samuel Dalembert was removed from the game not because he was in foul trouble, but because he needed rest.

Dalembert's improved first-quarter numbers - 10 minutes, four points, four rebounds - reflected his team's. After one quarter, the Sixers were ahead, 27-21, had shot 59.1 percent from the floor, were outrebounding the Magic by 10-7, and had no one, not even the guys guarding Howard, in foul trouble.