Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Andre Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers left the Magic stunned and the home fans silenced.
Iguodala made a 22-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining, and the 76ers rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Orlando 100-98 in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday.
Iguodala had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Louis Williams scored 18 to help the 76ers beat the Magic for the first time in four tries this season ó and when it mattered most. Hedo Turkoglu’s fadeaway 3-pointer missed at the buzzer, and Magic fans stood in disbelief before filing out quietly.
Dwight Howard had a career playoff-high 31 points and 16 rebounds, and rookie Courtney Lee scored 18 for the Magic. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Orlando.
Howard made the pair of free throws to put Orlando ahead 79-61.
The Sixers rolled off eight straight points in the fourth and eventually tied the game at 91 with fewer than four minutes left on a layup by Andre Miller. After Howard’s dunk over Theo Ratliff put the Magic ahead 98-95 with 49.1 seconds remaining, Donyell Marshall answered with a 3-pointer for Philadelphia and Iguodala did the rest.
The sixth-seeded Sixers were able to withstand an early Magic run and a strong start from Howard.