By Kate Fagan

Inquirer Staff Writer

Entering overtime at the Wachovia Center last night, the 76ers seemed like anything but a sure thing. They had been tripped by the lowest of hurdles this season, while the Chicago Bulls had won all four of their overtime games.

But the Sixers seemed to solve the puzzle, at least for one night. Using a scrambling defense that was more intense than anything seen this season, they pulled out a 106-103 overtime win.

For the fifth time this season, the Sixers (17-31) have won back-to-back games. They have yet to win three in a row.

Although overtime was kind to the Sixers, it should not have been necessary. With the score tied, Andre Iguodala missed a free throw with 6.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Elton Brand, who grabbed the miss, saw his 14-footer rim out with 2.9 seconds left.

“If we had caught a break, it would have been over with Elton’s shot,” said Sixers coach Eddie Jordan.

“It was a tough shot, but it just shows how much confidence I have,” said Brand, who finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. “I’m thinking, ‘Let’s go home.’ I’m looking at the clock: five seconds. We’re trying to turn this thing around. Chicago Bulls . . . they’re fighting for a playoff spot for real.”

Offered an overtime opportunity, the Bulls (23-24) could not capitalize.

Mostly, Chicago lost because the Sixers’ defense looked as if it had an extra couple of defenders out there - the lanes were closed. Chicago point guard Derrick Rose finished with 30 points, but he needed 22 shots to do it.

The shot that essentially ended the game came from Iguodala: a three-pointer to give his team a 101-98 lead with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in overtime.

After draining the long-range jumper from the top of the key, Iguodala jogged back down the court pushing his palms down as if imploring the crowd to keep calm.

Asked of his nail-in-the-coffin shot, Iguodala said, “I don’t know if it’s nice; it’s nice to get a win. But me personally, that’s what I’m supposed to do, you know, so, that’s my job and I have to continue to do it.”

A few seconds later, Willie Green hit a baseline jumper that pushed the lead to 103-98 and forced Chicago to call a time-out.

Iguodala finished with 25 points (19 in the second half), grabbed eight rebounds, and had eight assists.

Brand scored 16 of his points in the first half.

“It’s falling, Coach is calling my plays, he’s milking me,” Brand said. “If I’m hot, keep going in, keep going in and I’ll keep producing.”

“We felt we had the momentum, and it would have been a heartbreaker if we’d lost it at the end,” said guard Lou Williams, who scored 14 points off the bench. “The shots Dre was making, how Elton was playing, it would have been a heartbreaker.”

The 2010 NFL playoff schedule is set for next week. The postseason will kick off in Cincinnati, where Bengals will host the Jets at 4:30 PM ET in a rematch of their regular season finale. At 8:00 PM ET, the Philadelphia Eagles visit the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys in another rematch of a week 17 game. Both games will air on NBC.

On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens will face the Patriots in New England at 1:00 PM ET on CBS. The Ravens clinched a playoff berth today with a win in Oakland, while the Patriots lost their game — and stellar wide receiver Wes Welker to an injury — in Houston.

The final game of Wild Card Weekend airs at 4:40 PM ET on FOX, when the Arizona Cardinals host the Green Bay Packers. The Packers crushed Arizona today in a relatively meaningless game.

DeSean Jackson danced his way into the record books, carrying the Philadelphia Eagles to the top of their division along the way.Jackson scored on 72-yard punt return and a 60-yard pass from Donovan McNabb, sparking the Eagles to their most points this season in a 45-38 shootout victory Sunday night over the New York Giants.

The second-year wide receiver missed last week with a concussion, but was in sensational form in boosting Philadelphia (9-4) into the NFC East lead.

“That sounds good right now, but we have to take care of business,” McNabb said.

Jackson has eight touchdowns of 50-plus yards this year, tying the NFL mark.

“I said I was going to come back strong,” Jackson said. “I told the team I was going to come back strong.”

New York (7-6) also had its share of big plays, including TD passes of 68 and 61 yards by Eli Manning in a game marked by shoddy tackling on both sides. But the Eagles, whose previous high in 2009 was 40 points in a Nov. 1 rout of New York, prevailed despite being outgained 512-374.

With Dallas (8-5) losing to San Diego, Philly is looking back at the rest of the division. Just as Jackson did to the Giants when he caught a long pass and boogied backward into the end zone late in the third period for a 37-31 lead.

A 91-yard drive capped by Leonard Weaver’s 1-yard run — yes, the Eagles can score short ones, too — clinched Philly’s fourth straight victory over New York, including a divisional round playoff game in January.

“They battle,” coach Andy Reid said of his team. “It’s a tribute to the players.”

The Giants made it tight when Kevin Boss caught a 4-yard TD pass with 1:31 to go. But they couldn’t stage a final comeback and Reid won his first game after receiving a contract extension through 2013.

The Giants were primed to take the lead midway in the third quarter when McNabb’s pass was intercepted by Jonathan Goff. From the Philadelphia 29, Manning scrambled left for a first down, slid headfirst and lost the ball, recovered by Sean Jones. New York challenged that Brodrick Buntley caused Manning to stumble when he tugged his jersey before the quarterback took two more strides before going down, but the call was confirmed by video review.

Sanchez threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards before hurting his right knee, and the Jets’ stingy defense finished the job in a 19-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

The Jets (6-6) won their second straight game and moved within a victory of AFC East-leading New England (7-4), which plays at Miami on Sunday.

Not all the news was good.

Sanchez was wearing a brace after sustaining what coach Rex Ryan described as a mild sprain which happened when the quarterback hurt himself with a headfirst dive at the end of an 8-yard run early in the third quarter. Sanchez had hurt his other knee in a 17-6 win over Carolina last weekend, which led to the team bringing in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to provide sliding lessons for the first-year quarterback.

“He’s got to understand that it’s in the organization’s best interests to slide, and that was disappointing,” said Ryan, who added it’s uncertain whether Sanchez will be able to play at Tampa Bay on Dec. 13. “I love the kid, but he’s got to grow up and understand that he represents our entire organization.”

The Jets, at least, didn’t let down after Sanchez was escorted to the locker room.

Thomas Jones(notes) had 109 yards rushing to lead a Jets’ ground attack that registered 249 yards. In two games against Buffalo, including a 16-13 overtime loss at the Meadowlands on Oct. 18, the Jets combined for 567 yards rushing.

And New York’s defense did the rest, limiting Buffalo to 36 yards and four first downs in the second half.

The win was sealed with two big defensive plays to end the Bills’ final drive.

Shaun Ellis(notes) burst up the middle to sack Ryan Fitzpatrick(notes) for a 10-yard loss. On the next play, Fitzpatrick attempted a desperation heave up the right sideline intended for Terrell Owens(notes). The pass was underthrown, which allowed Darrelle Revis(notes) to intercept it with 2:02 remaining. The Jets were able to run out the clock.

“They had our number today,” Fitzpatrick said. “Very disappointing. We had opportunities all day. Just real disappointed with what happened out there.”

Buffalo (4-8) failed to build off the momentum it gained following a 31-14 win over Miami, and dropped to 1-2 since Perry Fewell took over as interim coach after Dick Jauron was fired.

“We just didn’t get it done, bottom line,” Fewell said. “But we had an opportunity to win the football game in the fourth quarter.”

Revis’ interception capped another solid outing for the cornerback in the Darrelle-versus-Terrell season sequel. He limited Owens to three catches for 13 yards in their first meeting. This time, Owens managed three catches for 31 yards.

“I just try the best I can,” Revis said. “We know he’s a big-time receiver. I get that job every week.”

The game was Buffalo’s second in Toronto, part of a five-year, $78 million deal the Bills reached with Toronto-based Rogers Communications last year to play one annual regular-season game and three preseason contests in Canada’s largest city and financial capital.

“This is my first time going outside of the country. I got my passport for the first time,” Revis said. “It was a good time.”

Owens chalked up the loss to missed opportunities due to breakdowns by Buffalo’s patchwork offensive line, which lost right tackle Kirk Chambers(notes) to an injured left ankle late in the second quarter.

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Former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley showed that he is for real in mixed martial arts, defeating veteran fighter Bob Sapp with a technical knockout in less than two minutes at “Ultimate Chaos” in Biloxi, Miss.

As soon as the bell rung, Bobby Lashley went in for a quick takedown. He had no problem with bringing the much larger Sapp to the canvas. From there, he executed his game plan well, staying on top of Sapp and throwing a barrage of punches. Sapp tapped to signal that he wanted the fight to end, but the referee did not see it, and Lashley kept punching. Finally, Sapp tapped again, and the referee put an end to the fight at 1:17 in the first round. After the win, Lashley announced that he is ready for whoever wants to take him on.

“To all the heavyweights out there, if you’re not looking at me, you better, because I’m coming. I’ll take on all challengers,” Lashley said.

Both men have the first name Bob, and both have experience professional wrestling, but the similarities end there, as Sapp outweighed Lashley by nearly 67 pounds for the main event. Lashley, who is undefeated in the real sport of MMA after years as a star professional wrestler in the WWE and ECW, took on the fight with Sapp, who is a veteran of Japanese fight promotions PRIDE and K-1, to prove that his desire to excel in MMA is real. A win over Sapp validated Lashley in the cage, moving his record to 4-0.

Lashley weighed in at 255 pounds for the fight, meaning that he would have no problem making the heavyweight class of 265 for more mainstream mixed martial arts promotions like the UFC, Strikeforce and Affliction. Considering how he has steamrolled through his four opponents, and that he is training at the highly touted American Top Team, it’s not crazy to think that we will soon see Lashley on a larger stage.

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