Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams sizzled instead of sulking after getting bumped from the starting lineup, combining for 33 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a surprising 92-81 victory against the Dallas Mavericks last night at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Young had been one of three 76ers to start all 41 games this season until last night. He scored 16 of his 22 points in the second quarter to help the 76ers grab an early double-digit lead and beat the second-best team in the West.

Williams came off the bench for only the third time this season and scored 11 points. Young and Williams were the only 76ers in double figures entering the fourth quarter. Maybe coach Eddie Jordan is on to something as the 14-win 76ers still believe they have a shot at the eighth playoff seed in the East.

Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry never got hot offensively and Shawn Marion missed nearly the entire second quarter with a lacerated right hand for Dallas.

It seemed inevitable that the Mavericks would eventually make a run at the 76ers and send Philadelphia to another close, crushing loss. After all, the 76ers had blown so many large leads late in defeat. Not on this game.

The 76ers kept running, pushing and scoring. Marreese Speights, who scored 14 points, made the first three baskets of the fourth for a 78-67 lead. Willie Green's three-point play off a driving layup pushed the lead to 14 points. Nowitzki buried an 18-footer that pulled the Mavericks within single digits. Allen Iverson, voted to start in the All-Star game, scored a twisting layup and made a free throw and the lead was back to 12.

That was good enough for the 76ers to hold on and win only their seventh home game of the season.

Nowitzki scored 15 points and Drew Gooden had 14 for Dallas.

• Celtics 98, Trail Blazers 95: Ray Allen was just 2 for 13 when he hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in overtime to give host Boston a victory against Portland.

• Lakers 115, Knicks 105: Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth to help visiting Los Angeles bounce back from a disappointing loss in Cleveland.

• Rockets 116, Spurs 109: Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry scored 23 points apiece and Houston ended a five-game road skid. The Spurs' Tim Duncan became the 35th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points.

• Hawks 103, Bobcats 89: Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, Al Horford had 23 and host Atlanta overwhelmed Charlotte with dominating performances in the first and third quarters.

• Heat 112, Wizards 88: Dwyane Wade scored 32 points to lead visiting Miami to a victory against Washington.

• Raptors 101, Bucks 96: Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 27 points, Chris Bosh added 17 and host Toronto defeated Milwaukee.

• Pacers 105, Pistons 93: Danny Granger scored 25 points, Troy Murphy added 16 points and 11 rebounds and visiting Indiana snapped a three-game skid.

• Grizzlies 86, Thunder 84: Rudy Gay scored 25 points, including a winning 20-footer with 1.3 seconds left, as Memphis extended its franchise-record home winning streak to 10.

• Hornets 96, Timberwolves 94: James Posey scored on a driving layup at the buzzer for the second game in a row to give visiting New Orleans a win.

• Magic 100, Kings 84: Dwight Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and host Orlando became the latest team to bully struggling Sacramento.

• Warriors 111, Nets 79: Stephen Curry scored a career-high 32 points, Corey Maggette added 29 points and Golden State beat visiting New Jersey.

• Bulls 115, Suns 104: Derrick Rose had 32 points and five assists as visiting Chicago defeated Phoenix.

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