We're not talking about College Ball or High School ball, especially from the days before they had a shot clock. This is Pro basketball, where you have confidence in your ball handlers and your team's ability to create a shot.
It's not worth discussing since you can't come up with a reason why you should play the way you say it should be. And you continue to ignore history and the many times this season the Sixers lost games on a last shot by an opponent. The Sixers cannot stop a desperation shot, but they can often make one. It has been a trademark for the team to play for the last shot at the end of each quarter, just to practice a buzzer beater. They know exactly how long it takes to run a play and make the shot just in time.
But this is a truth for every team in the league and in fact any team sport that is governed by a shot clock. You should always play for the opportunity to score last.
I'm still waiting for a justification for your idea of how to play this. I have a feeling that none of you will be able to come up with a good reason to allow the other team to have the last shot.
It's quite simple, really.
It's crucial to score in that possession. Do-or-die. You take the highest percentage; and that's almost never in desperation (by definition). That's it.
Plus, God forbid you miss and give them the ball back, you still can shut them down at the other end, go for a steal, or foul.
Put it this way: would you prefer to have taken the shot we did, Sam from 6-inches....or Hedo's, a launched 3 with :01? The answer is simple. High percentage every time.
Hedo lucked out in that his desperation shot was aided by the laughable defense of Thad, confirmed by Hedo himself and Van Gundy. 
Desperation or Pressure, as I prefer to call it, is largely irrelevant to a professional basketball player. In fact many of them live for that feeling of being able to come through in those circumstances. Iguodala and Hedo being prime examples of players who thrive under those conditions. Even an old player like Marshall loves to shoot threes when they're really needed.
I'll agree that the shot Sam took was a very high percentage shot, and preferable to Hedo's. But anyone who watches Hedo play knows that he can hit that shot, under pressure.
Bottom line is that with the ball your team has control and that is the most important thing. You don't put yourself in a position where if you fail to defend you lose. And by your decision you place the pressure on your defense to perform instead!
It cost the Sixers nothing to hold onto the ball. The only concern would be Orlando fouling, which they wouldn't do, since that would allow the Sixers to tie the game from the free-throw line. Or a mistake which can occur on either end of the floor. On that last play, the defense was keyed on Iguodala as the Magic knew it would be. Howard was going to come out to meet him on a drive. That lob to Sammy would have been just as open with 2 sec. on the clock, and we would have secured an overtime.
The way that you and Wow advocate playing results in your opponent having the last shot. And either you defend or you loose. I would rather trust my scorers to come through in such a pressure situation than my defenders. Particularly on a team like the Sixers who lost so many games on a last-second lucky shot. In basketball lightning does strike in the same place!
If you HAVE TO defend then you do as best as you can. I thought Thad did as well as possible defending that play. Hedo could have put the ball on the floor and headed to the basket if That got any closer. So Hedo makes a three, a clutch shot from a clutch player, just like the two wins the Sixers secured.
The difference is that I wouldn't even give him that shot. Why risk it, or open yourself to that possibility of the other team scoring and your team losing. Because your afraid to take a last shot? Scoring is generally easier then defending. Even for a team like Phila. that manages to steal the ball often.
