Posted: Saturday, December 20, 2008, 10:56 PM | 10 comments |
 

Sixers get caught in a trap
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Tony DiLeo reminded the 76ers in their pregame meeting tonight that the Indiana Pacers--missing Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Marquis Daniels--could still be dangerous.

As it turned out, the Pacers weren't only dangerous, they were good enough to turn back the Sixers 95-94, handing them their first loss in four games under DiLeo, who became the coach when Maurice Cheeks was fired last Saturday.The Pacers came from 15 points down in the second quarter and from five down with 2:59 remaining.

The Sixers, though, were still clinging to a 94-93 advantage on a steal and fast-break dunk by Lou Williams with 17.2 seconds to go, but T.J. Ford--playing through a sore left groin--dropped in the decisive 18-foot pullup jumper over Andre Iguodala with 3.9 seconds left.

The Sixers came out of a 20-second timeout with a play designed to get Iguodala to the rim. The play worked nicely, but Iguodala's twisting left-handed layup fell off the rim with four-10ths of a second on the clock.

''We got the shot we wanted,'' DiLeo said. ''We executed the last play, got a pretty good look. It just didn't fall for Andre.''

With Granger, Murphy and Daniels hospitalized in Indianapolis with flu-like symptoms, the Pacers got 25 points from Ford and 12 each from Jarrett Jack and Travis Diener. Iguodala had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the Sixers, while Williams contributed 17 points and Andre Miller posted a triple-double of 14 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Samuel Dalembert had one of his better games, producing 11 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.

''I talked to the team (before the game) and told them you're never out of a game (with the Pacers) and you never have a safe lead,'' DiLeo said.

The Sixers came out of it a man short when Willie Green aggravated a sore left ankle in the second quarter, prompting DiLeo to start Kareem Rush in the second half. Green said he initially hurt the ankle against Milwaukee Wednesday night, and that he expected to be able to practice Monday.

''This was a win we should have had,'' Iguodala said. ''It's one of our tougher losses. We've got to get them. When you lose them, you wish you could have them back when April comes.''

One other little detail:

The victory gave Pacers coach Jim O'Brien a 4-1 record against the Sixers, the team he coached for one season in 2004-05.

 
Posted by Phil Jasner @ 10:56 PM  Permalink | 10 comments
10
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:04 PM, 12/20/2008
    I wish i knew what to say, but frankly there isn't much to say. The team has no excuse now. Slow-poke Brand (C-Webb replica) is out for a month, so the team should be running more now. Frankly I don't know how many fast break points they had tonight, and only managed to watch on and off, but losing to bad teams is not a good start, and they'll definitely have something to prove with this brutal upcoming schedule. No excuses guys.
    — sixerfan1225
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:52 AM, 12/21/2008
    Tony, in his desire to get time for bench players, went away from what made the team successful in the last 3 games...a tight rotation of 7-8 guys. Thad, did not play enough minutes. He needs 38-40 along with Miller and Iguodala. I don't care what Sam's numbers were...he had a number of bad turnovers with goaltending, fumbling passes down low, moving screens. He is not one of their better bigs...he must be traded.
    — JBP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:10 AM, 12/21/2008
    ^ Agreed. Get ANYTHING while you still can for Dalembert.
    — robkaos
  • Comment removed.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:59 AM, 12/21/2008
    After hearing the last sixer-Clippers game being announced by the broadcasters from LA, I don't know how Elton will fit. They said that his injured leg is noticeably smaller than the other and his explosiveness is not there. He was a really good ballplayer but and he will probably be one again,next year. Those Clipper announcers sounded like they really felt sorry for Elton. Speights is a young Elton and maybe EB should be coming off the bench when he returns to see where he fits. Alot of money for a bench player but a good way to evaluate and let him get his strength back.
    — spear1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:04 AM, 12/21/2008
    OUTCH - keep plugging 76'ers!
    — russ4philly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:39 PM, 12/21/2008
    Why not just say flu symptoms instead of flu-like symptoms? It's like saying when someone breaks his/her leg, he is suffering from "broken leg-like symptoms". Why do we butcher and overextend our language so often?
    — bgcrimson29
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:18 AM, 12/23/2008
    It shouldn't have come down to a last minute shot, but the Sixers lost a lead at the end, by failing to make a shot. The problem is still their weakness in a half-court offense. With that said, the last shot should not have been given to Andre, but instead, they should have put in Speights and given him the ball. The reason you give a big man the ball is that it is hard to stop him without fouling him and the foul being too obvious not to call. This is why a post up player is so important. On Iguodala's drive, Dalembert was wide open underneath the basket, but you can't trust Sam's hands in that situation. With Speights the Sixers would have had a score and won the game. DiLeo gave Speights some minutes, and most of the fourth quarter. He made a mistake not making sure Mareese was in at the end.
    — ricky


10 comments
About Bob Cooney
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.

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