Game of the Day | Sixers not able to escape with win against Cavs

PHILADELPHIA — Devin Brown sank two free throws with 0.2 seconds left after Philadelphia was brought back from the locker room and the game seemingly over to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the 76ers on Monday night.

The Sixers appeared to have won after Lou Williams hit a fadeaway jumper with 5.1 seconds left — his second go-ahead basket in the final minute.

Instead, Brown was fouled by Samuel Dalembert with only a couple of ticks left. The Sixers thought the game was over and ran off the court, while the refs huddled at midcourt to look at the replay.

After the play was reviewed for a few minutes, Dalembert was hit with his sixth foul. The Sixers had to come back and watch Brown stun them for the controversial win.

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks argued with the refs and guard Andre Miller punted the ball in frustration.

LeBron James scored 27 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The defending Eastern Conference champs and No. 4 seed Cavaliers get to start their title defense at home against the Washington Wizards. The Cavs and Wizards will play in the first round for the third straight year.

Miller scored 26 points and Williams had 21 for the struggling Sixers, who built an 11-4 record in March that shot them up the East standings. Philadelphia (40-41) has lost three straight.

While the 76ers already secured a playoff spot, they were trying to stay out of the seventh seed and avoid a first-round matchup with Detroit. They also need a win Wednesday at Charlotte in the season finale to finish .500 for the first time since 2004-05.

Williams scored 11 points in the fourth, hitting one big shot after another to rally the Sixers back from 12 down early in the quarter.

James fired an overhead pass to Ilgauskas, who easily spun around Dalembert for an uncontested layup and an 87-86 lead.

Williams and Brown exchanged layups and the Sixers trailed by one. Then Williams buried a 19-footer from the right side and the crowd erupted in cheers.

In a flash, the win was gone.

So was any shot of the Sixers finishing with the sixth seed in the East. The Raptors earned that with a win over Miami and Philadelphia will play Detroit in a first-round series.