Sixers' rally falls short as they lose to Hawks

A COUPLE OF sequences defined the 76ers' loss to the Atlanta Hawks last night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Each came at points in the game when, if the Sixers had been able to can a short jumper or survive a nice defensive stand without Josh Smith nailing a deep-corner three-pointer, you got the feeling they might have pulled out the win against a top-notch Eastern Conference opponent.

But those two series didn't go the way coach Doug Collins or the 10,960 fans would have wished, and the Sixers lost, 104-101, to drop to 0-2.

Late in the third quarter, Jamal Crawford (19 points) hit consecutive three-pointers and Jeff Teague converted a backdoor layup for a 15-point lead. But as they did on Opening Night against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the Sixers kind of hung around, shaved off some of that lead and found themselves down by only 91-85 midway through the fourth quarter.

That's when the first tough sequence happened. Andres Nocioni had just nailed a three to pull his team within six, then was on the receiving end of an illegal screen by Smith, who got a technical for arguing the call. Nocioni failed to convert the foul shot, and on the possession after, Thad Young missed a short shot in the lane. Atlanta went on to score six of the next eight to bump the lead back to 10.

The Sixers again clawed and were able to trim the lead to two when Nocioni followed a Lou Williams miss with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining. On the Hawks' ensuing possession, Smith hit his long trey right in front of Collins with only 4 seconds on the shot clock, leaving the coach grasping his head with both hands.

So close to a good win, but a result that has become all too familiar since last season.

"We were down six and missed that technical," said Collins, whose purple shirt was drenched with sweat following the game. "Then we missed a little foul-line jump shot that would have cut it to three, and then Josh Smith threw that three in from the corner. That was a shot you would not like for him to take, and he made it."

It was easy to see why the Sixers stayed in the game and almost pull it out. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand were very good. Iguodala, again, filled the stat sheet with 27 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Brand bulled his way to 20 points and eight rebounds. The Sixers outscored Atlanta, 29-8, in fastbreak points and forced the Hawks into 15 of their 20 turnovers in the second half.

A good effort, but . . .

"You can't be happy and take positives away from losses," said Brand, who has 17 boards in the first two games. "We could have won. We jumped on them early [11-2 lead at the start]. It's still a feeling-out process, I think. What plays to call, what guys to play. We are learning about our team right now. We are going to get it right soon and then, hopefully, turn that corner."

They still had a chance to do it when they had the ball with 4.5 seconds to go and down by three. But Atlanta did a good job of getting out on shooters, and Iguodala's inbound to Nocioni never materialized very well. Smith blocked Nocioni's three near the buzzer.

"One thing we didn't want to do was give up an open three," said Hawks coach Larry Drew, whose team was led by Joe Johnson's 22 points and Al Horford's 20. "That's why we switched everything. Josh made a nice play and got a piece of it."

Nocioni provided a good spark off the bench, providing 15 points and much toughness in 30 minutes, and sub Lou Williams had 16.

After the game, Collins said Nocioni's role will be changing.

"He has to start for us," Collins said. "I am still trying to figure out this team. We have played two of the top four teams in the East, and I think that we have acquitted ourselves quite well."

If only for a couple of sequences, they might have a win to show for it.

Said Sixers swingman and former Allen Iverson teammate Andre Iguodala on Iverson's signing to play in Turkey: "I think him just playing basketball is a good thing. I think it will be great for him to be in a different environment. There isn't too much to do outside of basketball, so that really is all your focus. So that can be a positive." Added coach Doug Collins: "I always wish him well. He has a joy, passion and love for the game and I have great admiration for those types of players. I hope it works for him and opens a door back to the NBA." . . . A comment on Tuesday night by an analyst on ESPN said Iguodala and his agent had demanded a trade. When asked about it after yesterday's shootaround, Iguodala quizzically asked: "Where does this stuff come from?" There appears to be no smoke there . . . Sixers physician Jack McPhilemy was given the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association's award for Team Physician of the Year for 2010. Head trainer Kevin Johnson helped present the award to McPhilemy, who, in his 22 seasons with the team, has seen 13 head coaches, eight general managers and two owners. *

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