Boston 105, Philadelphia 98

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Boston Celtics took control of the Atlantic Division.

Paul Pierce scored 27 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, and the Celtics moved closer toward clinching the division title with a 105-98 victory over second-place Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Allen Iverson scored 28 points and Kyle Korver added 17 for the 76ers, who fell three games behind Boston with five games remaining.

``This was the biggest game to date,'' said Pierce, who had 13 rebounds. ``We had a lot on the line. We're our own worst enemy right now. It's in our hands to take.''

Philadelphia holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, one game behind Cleveland and one game ahead of New Jersey.

``It's about as disappointing as it gets,'' Iverson said. Antoine Walker had 18 points and Ricky Davis scored 16 for Boston, which saw a 5 1/2 -game lead in the division slip to two games since March 19.

Back in the lineup after missing one game with two sprained thumbs, Iverson was 9-for-21 from the field and had 11 assists.

Chris Webber, returning after missing five games with a sprained left shoulder, wasn't a factor, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds.

``I wanted to come back and be here for a big game,'' Webber said. ``Something's got to change. Hopefully, it will get better soon.''

Pierce broke a 98-all tie with an 18-footer with just under one minute left. After Marc Jackson missed a short jumper, Gary Payton's free throw gave the Celtics a 101-98 lead.

Jackson missed another jumper and Payton iced it with two free throws with 19 seconds left.

Walker beat the shot clock with a fallaway baseline jumper that gave Boston a 96-93 lead with 3 minutes left. After Payton stole Iverson's pass, Pierce made two free throws to extend the lead. But Jackson answered with a jumper and Iverson made a layup off a long pass from Webber to cut it to 98-97. After Pierce missed a layup, Webber made one free throw to tie it at 98. He missed three free throws in the fourth quarter.

``At the end of the game, we made more plays than them,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``The thing I was most proud of was execution. We executed as well as we have in a long time.''

The Sixers had won the first three meetings against Boston.

Iverson had five assists before taking his first shot, a successful driving layup with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

A 13-0 run by Boston early in the second quarter put the Celtics ahead 38-33. Al Jefferson had six points during that stretch, including consecutive driving layups.

The Sixers answered with a 10-0 run later in the quarter, taking a 49-44 lead. Jackson had eight of the 10 points, four on free throws. Philadelphia led 54-50 at halftime.

Fueled by the presence of Iverson and Webber, the Sixers opened the game with a 13-2 run, capped by a dunk from Samuel Dalembert off an alley-oop pass by Iverson.

``It was a big win,'' Davis said. ``It was a playoff game, a chance to keep our edge. This gives us confidence.''