Cavs' Brown Stuns 76ers in Final Second

[April 15, 2008]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Devin Brown sank two free throws with 0.2 seconds left after Philadelphia was brought back from the locker room and the game seemingly over to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the 76ers on Monday night.

The Sixers appeared to have won after Lou Williams hit a fadeaway jumper with 5.1 seconds left -- his second go-ahead basket in the final minute.

Instead, Brown was fouled by Samuel Dalembert with only a couple of ticks left. The Sixers thought the game was over and ran off the court, while the refs huddled at midcourt to look at the replay. The Cavaliers stayed on the bench, with some peeking over and hoping to hear the decision.

After the play was reviewed for a few minutes, Dalembert was hit with his sixth foul. The Sixers had to come back and watch Brown stun them for the controversial win.

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks argued with the refs and guard Andre Miller punted the ball in frustration.

LeBron James scored 27 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs

The defending Eastern Conference champs and No. 4 seed Cavaliers get to start their title defense at home against the Washington Wizards. The Cavs and Wizards will play in the first round for the third straight year.

Miller scored 26 points and Williams had 21 for the struggling Sixers, who have lost all the momentum built during a torrid 11-4 March that shot them up the East standings. Philadelphia (40-41) has lost three straight and dropped under .500 for the first time since they were 34-35 on March. 21.

While the 76ers already secured a playoff spot, they were trying to stay out the seventh seed and avoid a first-round matchup with Detroit. They also need a win Wednesday at Charlotte in the season finale to reach the .500 mark for the first time since 2004-05.

Williams scored 11 points in the fourth, hitting one big shot after another to rally the Sixers back from 12 down early in the quarter.

James fired an overhead pass to Ilgauskas, who easily spun around Dalembert for an uncontested layup and an 87-86 lead.

Williams and Brown exchanged layups and the Sixers trailed by one. Then Williams buried a 19-footer from the right side and the Fan Appreciation Crowd erupted in cheers one final time in the regular season. 

In a flash, the win was gone.

So was any shot of the Sixers finishing with the sixth seed in the East. The Raptors earned that with a win over Miami and Philadelphia will play Detroit in a first-round series.

The Cavaliers lost guard Sasha Pavlovic to a sprained left ankle in the third quarter. Pavlovic, who averaged 7.5 points, was fouled on a baseline jumper and badly twisted his ankle on an awkward landing.

Miller scored 14 straight points for Philadelphia from 3:24 of the second quarter to 3:27 of the third when he finally got some scoring help from his teammates.

The Sixers pulled as close as three points in the third quarter, but James hit a 3 in the final seconds for a 67-59 lead heading into the fourth.

Notes: Phillies 1B Ryan Howard, SS Jimmy Rollins and reliever J.C. Romero also attended the game. ... Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli watched part of the game from press row. He coached Cavs Delonte West and Dwayne Jones on Hawk Hill. ... 76ers G Andre Iguodala thanked the fans for coming before the game. "Even though it's Fan Appreciation Night, for the first time in a while, this won't be our last home game of the season. Enjoy the playoffs!" he said.

[Associated Press; By DAN GELSTON]

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