New Orleans ? The New Orleans Hornets didn’t need Jamal Mashburn to claw back into their first-round playoff series. A hobbled Baron Davis was more than enough.

Davis, wearing a thick sleeve over his strained and bruised left knee, scored 28 points on everything from three-pointers to slicing drives to floaters, leading the Hornets to a 99-85 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night.

“There’s still some things I can’t do, but I was making some quick moves,” Davis said.

“If I can get out and play and be active like I was tonight then I’m happy.”

The victory pulled the Hornets to 2-1 in the series, with Game 4 Monday.

Jamaal Magloire and P.J. Brown followed through on their promise to be more of a force inside. Magloire had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Brown had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jerome Moiso, seeing his first career postseason action, scored 10 points — all in the fourth quarter as the Hornets pulled away.

Allen Iverson led the Sixers with 28 points, but he had only eight in the second half.

Keith Van Horn, Kenny Thomas and Derrick Coleman each added 12 for Philadelphia.

“This is a series now,” Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said. “The crowd was phenomenal, their effort was great.”

Iverson said the outcome had more to do with effort than strategy.

“You can talk about the Xs and Os all you want. Tonight they just wanted it more than us,” Iverson said. “They beat us to loose balls and got 21 offensive rebounds, and that’s unheard of.

Mashburn, the Hornets’ leading scorer, dislocated and chipped a bone in his right middle finger during Wednesday’s 90-85 loss in Philadelphia. He has not said when he thinks he can return.

“Those guys, down 2-0, they’ve got an All-Star player sitting there in street clothes. The love of the game just came out for those guys,” Iverson said. “They just showed a lot of heart and a lot of character by being able to just fight and win the game.”

Davis reaggravated a left knee injury when he landed awkwardly after a layup in Game 1, then sat out Game 2.

Davis refrained from soaring layups or dunks, but he seemed nimble as ever on the dribble drive, routinely creating scoring opportunities for himself and teammates.

Coach Paul Silas let Davis play 40 minutes, about 10 more than he had planned.

“I’m sure he feels it a little bit … but he wanted to play because this was a do-or-die game for us and certainly he had to lead the charge,” Silas said.

New Orleans also was far more assertive on the boards, where the Hornets were beaten by Philadelphia in Game 2. Brown finished with seven offensive rebounds, compared to six for the Sixers.