OKLAHOMA CITY — LeBron James hit a jumper from the top of the key with 0.5 seconds left to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 103-101 victory over New Orleans on Monday night.

After P.J. Brown blocked James' driving layup, Desmond Mason tied the game at 101 when he made one of two free throws with 5.8 seconds left.

Mason then had the task of guarding James — who scored 32 points — off an inbounds pass from Flip Murray, but couldn't stop him from elevating just inside the 3-point line for the game-winner.

Brown caught an inbounds pass from Speedy Claxton but couldn't get a tying shot off before the buzzer.

With Cleveland already securing the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Hornets had much more at stake, but the loss dropped New Orleans 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, who are tied for seventh place in the West. The Hornets have five games left.

Before the game, James said he wouldn't have a problem with coach Mike Brown cutting back his minutes since the Cavs couldn't move up or down in the playoff race. But when he was replaced by Eric Snow in a three-point game with 9:28 left, he shot a confused look at his coach.

James was out for less than 3 minutes and played heavily into the final outcome.

He made the second of two free throws to put Cleveland ahead 97-96 2:03 left, then attracted three defenders to free up Donyell Marshall for a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up by four.

Claxton answered with a jumper and Paul got the Hornets within 101-100 with two free throws with 30 seconds left before Mason tied it.

Playing in his 43rd 43nd minute, James then provided the difference.

Murray added 25 points and Marshall scored 16 for Cleveland, which was 11-for-18 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers have won 11 of their last 12 games.

Paul led New Orleans with 22 points, while West and Claxton added 14 apiece. New Orleans has lost two in a row.

With James off the floor for the first time, the Hornets scored nine straight points to take a 47-37 lead on Kirk Snyder's 3-pointer from the left side. New Orleans led 63-52 at halftime after outrebounding Cleveland 25-12.

The Cavaliers scored the first nine points of the second half as the Hornets missed their first five straight shots. James drove for a layup to give Cleveland the lead and the Cavaliers started to pull away when Larry Hughes and Murray made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 81-74.

SIXERS 105, WIZARDS 97: At Philadelphia, Allen Iverson had 26 points and 15 assists and Kyle Korver scored 20 off the bench, helping the Philadelphia 76ers move into sole possession of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 105-97 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night. Stephen Hunter, playing for the injured Chris Webber, tied a career high with 20 points, and Andre Iguodala added 19 as the Sixers won their second straight game to move a half-game ahead of Chicago for eighth place in the East.

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PACERS 101, KNICKS 82: At Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson scored 28 points and Peja Stojakovic added 23 to help the Pacers beat New York and improve their chances of making the playoffs. Austin Croshere added 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Pacers moved into a tie for the sixth position in the Eastern Conference. Indiana stopped New York's winning streak at three games.

MAGIC 105, HAWKS 88: At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help the Magic keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Howard tied his career high with six assists as the Magic won for the ninth time in their last 10 games. Jameer Nelson added 17 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 16 for the Magic, who shot 52.6 percent from the field. Orlando (33-44) is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, three games behind Philadelphia for the final playoff spot. The Magic have five games remaining.

NUGGETS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 98: At Portland, Ore., Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to their first division title in 18 years with a victory.

DALLAS 75, CLIPPERS 73: At Los Angeles, Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and grabbed 14 boards to lead the Mavs past the Clippers.

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