He had played as many minutes five times this season, most recently 10 games ago. He looked fresh.
"He turned the game around," coach Tony DiLeo said. "He spread the floor for us offensively. Guys could not help as much. I am not surprised. He's a professional. He's always ready to play."
He's used to being the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency guy.
"Hey, I'm always going in with us down 15 points or whatever," Marshall said. "It's easy. I have no conscience."
Marshall certainly displayed no reserve. His first trey cut it to 11 with about 9 minutes to play.
He'd grabbed two rebounds before he took a shot. His second cut it to two with 4:19 left, an answer to Rashard Lewis' trey. His third tied the game at 98-98 with 34.8 remaining. In between, he hit a runner that made it a two-point game with 2:11 left.
"He was outstanding," said Thaddeus Young, who sat most of the fourth quarter in deference to Marshall.
The Sixers and their fans, like everyone in the NBA, know Marshall can drain it. He dropped 12 threes on the Sixers in 2005, when he was with the Cavaliers.
"We know that's what he's coming out there for," point guard Andre Miller said.
The last one, of course, is the one people will remember. It came off an offensive board, with defenders scrambling, somehow losing track of the Sixers' specialist. Miller didn't lose track.
"I'd already hit two or three," Marshall said. "I thought, 'I might as well shoot this one, too.' "
He might be affable, but he's deadly, too.
"He's like our secret weapon," DiLeo said.
"Secret weapon?" chirped Kareem Rush, upon hearing the newest nickname given his bench buddy. "If that's what you call playing once in 10 games."
That's how you keep it secret.
Six shots
Andre Miller aggravated a 3-week-old injury in his right hand when he was fouled with 6:42 to play in the third quarter. He remained in the game but the fingers on the hand were numb, leading to a missed shot and two turnovers. He left with 1:12 to play in the quarter but returned midway through the fourth and stayed in. He left the arena with the hand taped, receiving electric stimulus . . . The Magic was 52-1 this season when leading with 5 minutes to play. They led by four with 5 minutes to play last night. *
