Iverson leads Sixers over Hornets again

PHILADELPHIA: Allen Iverson scored 29 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 90-85 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night, to take a 2-0 lead in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.

Kenny Thomas added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Sixers while Derrick Coleman added 12 points and six assists. Game three in the best-of-seven series is tomorrow in  New Orleans. Iverson dominated game one, scoring 55 points, but got much more support from the rest of the bench in game two as the Hornets were hampered by injuries to their two top players,  Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn. Davis did not play due to his left knee injury and Mashburn  managed just one point after he dislocated his right middle finger in the third quarter.

Mashburn left the game for good with 6.49 left in the final  quarter and his status for tomorrow remained uncertain. Keith Van Horn added 11 points for Philadelphia, which got 40 points from their starting frontcourt, compared to just 11 in  game one. David Wesley had 24 points to lead the Hornets while Robert Pack added 15 points. Mashburn wound up with 14.

In DALLAS: Steve Nash scored 28 points and had eight  assists as the Mavericks edged the Portland Trail Blazers 103-99. Dirk Nowitzki added 25 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who lead the best-of-seven Western Conference series 2-0. Game 3 is in Portland  tonight. Michael Finley added 17 points for the Mavericks while Eduardo Najera had 12 points and six rebounds. Bonzi Wells had 45 points for Portland on 16-for-24 shooting. Rasheed Wallace added 18 points.

In AUBURN HILLS: Tracy McGrady scored 46 points but the Detroit Pistons had five players in double-figures as they edged Orlando Magic 89-77. No other Magic player was in double-figures as Detroit tied  the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 1-1. Game three is tonight in Orlando. Richard Hamilton had 30 points for Detroit while Chauncey Billups had 15 and Corliss Williamson added 13. Ben Wallace, selected as the NBA’s defensive player of the year earlier in the day, had 16 rebounds and scored 10 points.