Maybe next time, they can splice in some of what the 76ers did last night as they first gave back a 20-point, first-quarter lead, then all but handed the remainder of the game to the Atlanta Hawks in a 96-91 loss.

If the Saint Joseph's-Villanova game is the Holy War, this had to be Holy Moley.

The Sixers inexplicably built a 32-12 lead, then slalomed their way to their 13th defeat in the last 17 games. We all know the NBA is a league of runs. We've all seen them, but - at least recently - not one that turned around this fast.

The Sixers went from up 18 at the end of the first quarter to up six at halftime to down two after three periods.

"It was like I looked at the clock and we were up 20, turned around to get some Gatorade and we were down one," said Sixers guard Willie Green, wincing at the thought. "We knew they'd make a run, but obviously not that kind of run. We couldn't get back on top."

Here are some numbers to accentuate the U-turn the game took: The Sixers outscored the Hawks, 15-0, on the fastbreak in the first quarter, then got outscored, 13-2, the rest of the way; the Sixers held a 9-2 advantage in second-chance points in the opening quarter, then got outscored, 9-2, over the final three quarters; center Samuel Dalembert had seven rebounds in the first quarter, six the rest of the way, two in the second half.

And in the midst of the mayhem, there was the Hawks' Josh Smith putting together 19 points, nine assists, nine blocks, six rebounds and four steals in 40:04. Six of those blocks came in the second quarter.

Essentially, he didn't just swat shots. He knocked the Sixers right out of the game.

"He changed the whole game," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "It's a shame that we put that kind of pressure on him. We just have to lock in and take the individual challenge to guard the ball. That's what we weren't doing, and he was covering up a lot of our mistakes, which was great."

Even when Smith wasn't able to get his outstretched hand on a shot, he had the Sixers thinking that he might.

"He may have blocked only nine - and I say 'only nine' - but he altered many more," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.

"He's kind of like a wing and a center wrapped into one," Sixers guard Andre Miller said.

The bulk of the Sixers' mistakes equally came defensively. They just had no way of compensating, not even with a 29-point performance from Miller and 22 points from Andre Iguodala.

"This was like two games," Cheeks said. "We started out getting our hands on a lot of balls and getting out in transition."

That translated to the Sixers shooting 13-for-25 to start, and the Hawks starting out 6-for-23.

The Sixers gave back their advantage. The Hawks did not. They got 21 points from Josh Childress, including nine in the fourth quarter, plus 18 from Joe Johnson and 11 from Tyronn Lue.

"This is very disappointing,'' Dalembert said. "It doesn't matter if you're up by 20. You should try to be up by 30. If you're up by 30, you should try to be up by 40. To me, [this] was just unbelievable. I've seen teams come back in the second half, but not in the second quarter, so quick."

Spectrum revisit?

The Sixers are considering moving their March 22 game against New Jersey from the Wachovia Center to the Spectrum, according to a highly placed source at Comcast-Spectacor.

Last month, Comcast-Spectacor announced plans for an entertainment complex, Philly Live!, at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex that might include demolition of the Spectrum.

The source said the possible Spectrum game is unrelated to the development plans.

Six shots

Sixers executive vice president Larry Brown made the trip and sat behind the bench . . . The Sixers return home tonight to face the Washington Wizards. *