Sixers' loss to Pistons no day at the beach

THEY COULD have gone shirts against skins and played this one on the playground at 34th Street in Ocean City for all the defense that was displayed.

The 76ers and Detroit Pistons, both long removed from any kind of playoff consideration, played a game at the Wachovia Center last night that rivaled the ones you see at the courts near the beach - lots of scoring, very little defense. The only difference was there weren't five players waiting on the sidelines calling "next."

When it was finally over, the Pistons were the kings of the court, defeating the Sixers, 124-103.

The Pistons, who snapped an 11-game losing streak, converted 63 percent of their shots (47-for-75), a season-high, while the Sixers averaged 53 percent (39-for-74).

The Sixers now stand at 26-51 heading into tonight's game at Miami, while the Pistons improved to 24-53.

But instead of toweling off after the game and heading for a dip in the ocean, the Sixers head coach bashed a couple of his key players to the media, and the players quizzically responded.

Bet it was a fun plane ride down to Miami after the game.

Elton Brand, coming off the first non-rebound game of his career, and Sam Dalembert both played just 12 minutes and 32 seconds. When asked why that was, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan explained.

"I wasn't happy with their play, that's flat-out" he said. "Their defensive energy, awareness and a sense of urgency, that sort of thing."

Defense was certainly at a minimum throughout the night. But it must be noted that Brand and Dalembert played most of their time (8:06) in the first half, which ended with the score tied, 61-61.

Both were perplexed by the coach singling them out.

"I think it might have been premeditated," said Brand, who scored six points in his limited time. "And it didn't work. We lost by 20. I think in the first half defensive awareness was there, we weren't down big."

Said Dalembert: "Let him keep pointing it out. I've been playing hurt the last month, but I've been hustling. He's the boss, he's the coach. All season I've been out there hustling. If my leash is short and after one or two mistakes . . . he's the coach."

It was a close, and pretty entertaining game throughout most of three quarters, until the Pistons scored 16 of the game's next 21 points to go up 82-70. It got as high as 18 at one point, though the boos starting raining down from the disgruntled 13,832 long before that.

"It was a poor performance and there is no excuse," said Jordan. "We took some time off and we didn't have energy. I'm not happy at all and we didn't have it. We threw the ball away and didn't defend."

And it wasn't like all this bad play came against a superior opponent. The Pistons' final points total was a season-high and they eased through the Sixers' laid-back defense like it was a day at the beach. Or the courts at the beach.

"Either you come with energy or you have one foot in the pool or on the golf course," said Jordan. "I would think with the way some of our guys played tonight, they better show up [tonight] or I won't be so nice at the press conference."

Iguodala's response to his coach's remark: "I think if that is the case, it would be best for us to keep that in-house and address it amongst each other. We are going through some tough times, but we have to continue to go out there and play games the right way and keep our minds on the task at hand. While we are here, we need to be on the same page and get through the growing pains."

One bright spot for the Sixers was the 19 points posted by rookie Jodie Meeks, his high as a Sixer since coming over from Milwaukee at the trading deadline. The 6-4 guard out of Kentucky showed his versatility by making shots from inside and out. He finished 8-for-11 from the floor.

Marreese Speights came off the bench to lead the Sixers with 21 points, while Iguodala and Lou Williams each added 12. Jrue Holiday posted 11 points and nine assists.

Charlie Villanueva had a game-high 25 points for the Pistons, while Rodney Stuckey added 24. Ben Wallace scored 18, just the ninth time in his 967-game career that he has scored 18 or more in a game.

Forward Thaddeus Young will not travel with the team to Miami. X-rays of his fractured right thumb were taken before the game and evaluated by Dr. Jack McPhilemy. His status is yet to be determined for Friday's home game against Milwaukee. Swingman Rodney Carney (sore right big toe) also will not make the trip to Miami.

For more Sixers coverage, read the

Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville.