76ers are a tired team, says Collins

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Even before Saturday night's resounding loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, 76ers coach Doug Collins knew his team needed rest.

The Sixers were playing the last of six games in a nine-day stretch, were coming off an emotional victory over the Boston Celtics, and were just beginning a five-game road trip.

A day off in Salt Lake City was announced hours before Collins' team sleepwalked through a 102-74 loss to the Bucks. Against Milwaukee, the Sixers turned the ball over 21 times - a sure sign of a "tired team" - and struggled to contest Milwaukee's outside shots.

"Against a team like this who wasn't missing shots, clicking on all gears and all cylinders and they were fresh, winning is a hard thing to do," Sixers guard Evan Turner said.

With the Sixers trailing by more than 20 points in the second half, Collins pulled swingman Andre Iguodala and power forward Elton Brand to save their legs for the rest of this road trip.

"I wasn't going to put guys out there for heavy minutes," Collins said. "It didn't make sense being down 23 at the end."

After Saturday's game, the Sixers flew to Salt Lake City, where they will play the Jazz on Monday night. The Sixers did not practice on Sunday; they have four games left on the season's final extended road trip: at the Jazz, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Entering Sunday night's schedule, the Sixers (34-32) were one game behind the New York Knicks for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bucks (26-38) were only a half-game out of the East's final playoff spot.

"Milwaukee is a very good team," Collins said. "That's a playoff team when they're healthy."

Bucks back? Entering their Sunday night game against the Celtics, the Bucks had won three consecutive games by an average of 22.3 points. Battling season-long injuries, the Bucks, a playoff team last season, finally have much of their roster healthy, including guard Brandon Jennings and center Andrew Bogut.

Breaking away. On a second-quarter three-pointer by Sixers guard Lou Williams, the Sixers pulled to within 37-30. The Bucks then made seven consecutive shots and posted a 20-6 run that buried the Sixers.

Bench struggles. The Sixers' much-lauded bench struggled against Milwaukee. Excluding Williams and Turner, the Sixers bench finished Saturday's game shooting 4 for 23 from the floor.