MIAMI (Ticker) -- An uncharacteristic quick start by the Philadelphia 76ers was almost undone by a frazzled finish.
Allen Iverson scored 35 points and the 76ers nearly blew a 19-point third-quarter lead before holding on for a 93-90 victory over the Miami Heat, their sixth straight win in the series.
Plagued by slow starts all season, the 76ers bolted to a 10-point lead after one quarter and opened a 73-54 advantage in the third period on a trio of 3-pointers by Aaron McKie, who scored 14 points.
"We were just solid early in the game to get off to a good start on the road," Sixers coach Randy Ayers said. "It wasn't a great start but it was good enough to keep us in the game and we extended the lead in the second (half) with some 3-pointers."
But the Heat rallied behind backcourt mates Eddie Jones and rookie Dwyane Wade, who combined for 16 points in the final period. A pair of inside baskets by Brian Grant made it 91-90 with 39 seconds left.
"We were very aggressive on defense and very aggressive on offense," said Wade, who scored 21 points. "It's something that we should have been at the beginning of the game. We had a losing mentality."
Iverson, who had just one two-point basket to that point, drilled a 17-footer with 21 seconds to go before the Heat squandered several chances.
Lamar Odom missed a drive, but Eric Snow missed a breakaway layup. Jones did not see Grant's outlet pass, which went out of bounds with 5.4 seconds left.
"I just got excited," said Grant, who scored 11 points. "There was only one person on my mind that I wanted to get it to and that's Eddie. I turned and saw him running but he wasn't looking at me. It was a perfect bad pass."
Snow fumbled away an inbounds pass, but Odom missed an open 3-pointer from the top of the arc.
"I just couldn't make the play to put the game into overtime," said Odom, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds. "You just have to make those."
"I think we played well for at least 40-something minutes, but we didn't play well at the end of the game," Iverson said. "We let them get back into the game when we had them on the ropes."
Iverson scored 35 points for the third straight game. He made just 7-of-23 shots but hit 5-of-9 3-pointers and 16-of-17 free throws.
"I just couldn't hit anything inside the arc," Iverson said. "I struggled all night. Luckily, I was able to get to the free-throw line and made some free throws, but my field game was just off tonight."
The Sixers made 10-of-16 3-pointers as they improved to 3-3 in the back end of a back-to-back set. They moved to 11-10 and remained atop the Atlantic Division.
Jones scored 20 points but made just 2-of-13 3-pointers for the Heat, who have lost 13 of their last 15 meetings with the Sixers, including five in a row at home.
Miami had a four-game home winning streak snapped.
