Orlando, Fla. ? Baron Davis was deprived of winning the game in regulation so he did the job in overtime instead.

A referee waved off Davis’ three-pointer at the fourth-quarter buzzer, but he scored nine of his 33 points after that, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Orlando Magic, 110-100, for a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Saturday.

“I thought I got it off in time, but the ref didn’t think so,” said Davis, who also had 14 rebounds and 10 assists. “So we had to go to overtime.”

The Hornets can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a victory in Game 4 Tuesday night in Orlando.

With 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation, Davis caught P.J. Brown’s inbounds pass at the top of the circle, turned and banked it home for the apparent game-winner. Television replays clearly showed that Davis got the shot off before time expired.

But almost as soon as Davis released the ball, official Bernie Fryer began waving his arms and shouting that the shot was no good.

Fryer said that during the timeout preceding the shot, the officiating crew discussed what a player would be allowed to do and that a catch-turn-release sequence wasn’t going to count.

“He had to cock to get a three-pointer up to get muscle behind it,” Fryer said. “And I said you can’t do that in seven-tenths.”

That reasoning worked for Orlando coach Doc Rivers, who admitted the first thought the game was over when Davis’ shot found the mark.

“When you think about it, it is impossible to catch, turn, jump and shoot in .7 seconds, and that’s basically what Bernie Fryer said right away,” Rivers said.

The clock, Fryer added, is merely used to supplement an official’s call in that situation.

“You can rely on the clock, but I’m going to rely on my judgment on how long it takes him to get the shot off,” he said.

In overtime, Davis hit a pair of three-pointers and three free throws as Charlotte outscored Orlando 18-8.

“I really wanted to be real aggressive, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime because I felt I could get to the hoop any time,” said Davis, who made four of his final five shots, including 2-for-3 on three-pointers. “That way, it would open up a lot of shots for my teammates.”

Davis has a strained back, but he looked fine in posting the fourth triple-double of his career and first in the playoffs.

“Once the game got started and I was able to get some minutes under my belt, my back loosened up,” Davis said.