Sixers defeat Hornets in come-from-behind win
Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday led the Sixers to a 101-93 win over New Orleans in the teams last of five-straight road games.
Sixers defeat Hornets in come-from-behind win
Bob Cooney
Youth served the Sixers well last night as guards Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner led them to a come-from-behind 101-93 win over the New Orleans Hornets.
The Sixers improved to 3-2, ending their five-game road trip to open the season. Their home-opener will be Friday night against the Detroit Pistons.
The Sixers started slow, missing 14 of their first 21 shots and fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half. But they pecked away in the third quarter in finally took over the game in the fourth, when they outscored New Orleans by 34-20.
Holiday scored 14 of his game-high 23 in the fourth. He hit a pair of huge three-pointers, the first coming from the left baseline with 4:17 left to give the Sixers an 89-83 lead, his second coming with 2:36 remaining for a 92-87 cushion. But the play of the night came courtesy of Andre Iguodala, who basically finished off the Hornets when he followed a missed jumper by Spencer Hawes. Iguodala appeared to come from nowhere, corralled the ball with his left hand around the rim and threw it back in for a 96-89 lead.
Turner fishinshed off his best game as a pro with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. He is starting to look more and more like the player he was two years ago at Ohio State, when he garnered player of the year awards.
Spencer Hawes turned in another good outing for the Sixers, collecting 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Elton Brand posted 12 points and 12 rebounds and Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young each had 10 points.
The Sixers were very thin at the center position as earlier in the day they traded away Marreese Speights to Memphis - the trade netting them a couple of second round picks. Then about an hour before the game, rookie big man Nikola Vucevic gingerly walked to the locker room after straining his back.
"I was just doing my shooting and everything was fine and then, I don't know, I guess I made a bad move and I tweaked it. Nothing bad, though. It just got real tight and I couldn't really move well and it was hurting a little bit. So I did some stretching and I got a massage and it's feelling a little bit better."
lets gooooo!!!! But I think we need to start one of our bench players because the style of play the 1st team plays is to slow thats why we always start from behind and ask our bench players to bail us out even though they do. Jodie hasnt done anything all year he is stealing minutes....Goooo Sixers!!!!!!!!— salis15- Ditto salis, Meeks' showed his ability to stretch the floor last season, but with Lou playing so well, Turner starting to emerge, and Dala making threes for a change, I don't see how starting Meeks contributes to the team at this point. Good to see Jrue have a good game, though. He's the one we really need to break out.— goeagles87
- Good win last night, as you saw balanced scoring on the stat sheet. Evan Turner really looked good last night, as he looks like a different player when he has confidence, and takes charge of the team. The compacted 66 game schedule should benefit the 76ers with a deep bench and balance scoring.— Jacket85
- Best pro game so far for Turner? Jrue showing that his preseason three-point prowess in the fourth (remember the second Wiz game) wasn't a fluke. A pleasure to watch a team that shares the ball, plays solid defense, gets out on the break, and knows enough to put the ball in the hands of whoever's hot at the end, first Iggy, then Lou, now Jrue. But it'll be Brand, Thad, Turner, and Hawes in the future. What a fun team to root for. Dare I say it's more of a stereotypical Philly team (think "Rocky" underdog) than the star-studded Phils and Eagles.— Leegles
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
