The Golden State Warriors never used to win the close games against top opponents, or even believe that they could.
Now they are confident they can beat anybody.
The Warriors overcame a late six-point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-98 on Monday night for their third straight victory.
"In the past this was one of the games we would find a way not to win,'' Antawn Jamison said.
Jason Richardson scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final minute, and Jamison had 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Jamison made a monstrous dunk off a pass from Earl Boykins with 24.6 seconds left after a miss by Allen Iverson. Boykins was again the sparkplug off the bench, scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half to go with six assists. He also combined with Gilbert Arenas to defend Iverson.
The Sixers lost their sixth straight on the road, and their second in as many games on a five-game West Coast trip.
Iverson missed four shots in the final 2:16 and had his second consecutive poor shooting game, finishing 8-for-23 for 23 points.
"Any loss is a tough one, regardless of how you got the loss,'' said Iverson, who was 4-of-12 from the floor for a season-low 13 points in a 98-69 defeat Saturday at Utah. "A loss is a loss. It's just a bad feeling.''
Philadelphia coach Larry Brown was ejected with 7.6 seconds left after arguing an offensive foul call against Aaron McKie 3 seconds earlier.
"We're going home to regroup. I don't want to get in trouble,'' Brown said, referring to the chance he would be fined.
The Sixers have not won a road game since beating the Washington Wizards on Nov. 30.
Keith Van Horn had 15 points before fouling out with 3:57 left. Boykins then converted two free throws to tie the game at 92.
Jamison hit a 3-pointer with 1:25 left for a 95-94 lead after he had turned the ball over on the previous possession.
"It gives you a lot of confidence knowing you can play with a playoff-caliber team like Philadelphia,'' Jamison said.
The Warriors trailed by six after a three-point play by Iverson with 5:24 remaining. Iverson stole the ball from Arenas, who fouled him and was called for goaltending.
In the second half, Golden State went away from what worked so well early in the game, but still was able to hold on thanks to six players in double figures. The Warriors made fewer passes and settled for long-range shots, many of those under pressure. They had 22 baskets in the first half and 16 assists.
Golden State had its full roster for the first time all season after Chris Mills returned from his three-game suspension for a Dec. 20 fight with the Portland Trail Blazers. Guard Bob Sura was activated from the injured list Friday after missing the first 27 games with a lower back injury.
The Warriors shot 51 percent in a fast-paced first half to take a 57-52 halftime lead.
Mike Dunleavy made all four of his field-goal attempts in the second quarter for all 11 of his points and Richardson was 3-for-3 from 3-point range on the way to 18 first-half points.
The Sixers missed six of their first seven shots and had six first-quarter turnovers to fall way behind. Golden State used a 14-0 run to build an 18-4 lead before the Sixers finally began to find their offensive touch. Iverson was 2-for-6 in the first quarter but finished the half with 13 points.
"We were playing uphill for the most part and when you do that, you get down to the end of the game, things don't go your way,'' Sixers' guard Eric Snow said.
Game notes
The crowd of 18,733 was the second largest of the season. ... Now that the Warriors' roster is back at full strength, first-year coach Eric Musselman has to decide who to play. "It's not going to be a smooth transition period over the next week,'' he said. "It's going to take some time.'' ... The Sixers' Brian Skinner played despite a sprained right foot. ... Adonal Foyle had 10 rebounds and three blocks for Golden State.
