Sixers Report

The 76ers meet three opponents from the Atlantic Division this week, hosting the Boston Celtics - with former Big Five stars Delonte West and Allan Ray - tonight at the Wachovia Center and then traveling up the turnpike for games tomorrow night at New Jersey and Wednesday night at New York.

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Andre Iguodala. After sitting out the Charlotte game, Iguodala fought back pain in the next two games he played, sitting out only 3 minutes, 16 seconds while scoring 45 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and passing out 21 assists.

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According to Denver coach George Karl, Allen Iverson is not allowing top scorer Carmelo Anthony "to get away with some of his childish [ways] at times" and is "calling him out a little bit, which I think is pretty cool." Iverson credited former Sixers teammates Eric Snow and Aaron McKie with showing him how to lead. "They were the vocal leaders and I always led by example," Iverson told the Denver Post. "Here it is different because I am more vocal and I have been places these guys want to go."

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Last season, the Sixers were outscored off the bench in 61 games and went 26-35. They went 11-7 in the 18 games when their bench held the scoring advantage. The Sixers were beaten off the bench twice in their three games last week, splitting the games against Charlotte and Washington. Their reserves held a 28-20 advantage against Miami's reserves in the win over the Heat. For the season, they are 16-19 when they outscore the opponent's reserves, 12-22 when their bench is outscored, and 0-2 when they equal the bench total of the other team.

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The Sixers lost some ground last week in their bid to finish with the league's third-worst record and, thus, have more of a chance to win the NBA lottery. Their two wins dropped them to sixth place in the "Best of the Worst" race with 28 wins, three more than third-place Milwaukee but only one victory up on the two teams tied for fourth, Atlanta and Charlotte.

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Rookie forward Rodney Carney established a career high with three assists against Charlotte, and now has 22 assists in 62 games this season.

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Miami's Shaquille O'Neal went to the foul line early in Saturday's game and missed two free throws. On the second shot, the Sixers' Steven Hunter was whistled for a lane violation, giving O'Neal another attempt, which he missed. But wait: Andre Miller was spotted moving inside the three-point arc before the shot left O'Neal's hand, and O'Neal had a fourth chance to make a free throw. Which he missed.

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Samuel Dalembert made 21 of 28 field-goal attempts (75.0 percent) in a week when he matched his career high for points with 24. Dalembert ranks ninth in the NBA in field-goal percentage at 54.5.

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The numbers would favor Iguodala, who made 15 of 36 shots (41.7 percent), but Iguodala did have some issues with his back and gritted out nearly 93 minutes of playing time, so it's tough to get on him for the shooting.

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Caron Butler, Washington. Butler missed six games with a knee injury and came back in grand style against the Sixers in a game the Wizards had to have. Butler had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, and banked in a 75-footer at the third-quarter buzzer.

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Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks will wear a microphone during the first half of tonight's game against the Celtics, and an edited version of what he says will be heard at halftime on Comcast SportsNet. That means he'll have to watch what he says, right? "I don't say things that are going to be out of the box anyway," Cheeks said. "I don't think it's going to be a problem." Later, however, in response to another question, Cheeks thought for a few seconds and replied, "Can I turn it off when I'm in the huddle? I guess not, huh?"

1

Free throws made by the Sixers in the second half of Wednesday night's loss at Washington; they sank a season-low seven free throws in the game.

7

Consecutive months that the Sixers posted a losing record before coming up with a winning month of March.

16

Games in which the Sixers have held their opponents under 90 points; they've won 12 of them.

19

Largest deficit overcome this season by the Sixers, who trailed Miami by 39-20 but wound up with a victory.

29

Season-high assists compiled by the Sixers against the Wizards.

75

Length, in feet, of Caron Butler's desperation two-handed shot at the buzzer in the third quarter against Washington.

232

Consecutive games started by Andre Iguodala, or every game since he turned pro, before he missed last Friday night's game with a sore lower back.

.528

The Sixers' winning percentage (19-17) since they bought out Chris Webber and waived him on Jan. 11.