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Sixers defeat Rockets, near playoff clincher

It's as if there's an unopened present, shimmering, in the middle of the 76ers' locker room.

Lou Williams scored 15 points and dished out five assists against the Rockets on Wednesday. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)
Lou Williams scored 15 points and dished out five assists against the Rockets on Wednesday. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)Read more

It's as if there's an unopened present, shimmering, in the middle of the 76ers' locker room.

And it's as if that box's contents - in this case an official invitation to the NBA playoffs - has consumed the team's thoughts, words, and on-court execution.

How else can you explain Jrue Holiday's declaration that his team needed Wednesday's 108-97 victory over the Houston Rockets more than the Rockets needed the victory?

"We needed it more than Houston," Holiday said afterward, conviction in each word. "We needed it way more than Houston."

Really? They did?

The Rockets were two games out of the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Houston was like a runner flying wildly around the last turn, each stride desperate. Even before Wednesday's game, the Sixers' chances of not making the playoffs were so infinitesimal you'd need a microscope to see them. Now holding a record of 39-36, they could walk to the finish line and still make the playoffs.

Just don't tell them that. They won't agree. The Sixers are talking and playing as if the playoffs are a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: If they don't get there quickly enough, someone else will.

But if they win Friday against New Jersey, they're in.

Their laser-like focus, repeatedly shaken but never stripped, is producing victories such as Wednesday's at the Wells Fargo Center and Monday's over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center - impressive victories over strong teams.

On Wednesday, the Sixers trailed late in the third quarter, then dominated at game's end. They allowed only 15 points in the fourth quarter and created a 12-point gap late in the game. Houston coach Rick Adelman called timeouts. He likely attempted instilling an all-out urgency in his squad. After all, losing to the Sixers would pry another finger from the Rockets' playoff rope. But still, Adelman's team couldn't match the Sixers.

"I told our guys, to me this game was just as important to us as to them," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "They're trying to get in, we're trying to keep moving up. I don't want it to be where we have to look and see if someone helped us."

How close are the Sixers to opening their playoff present? On Wednesday night, they were one basket away. If the Cleveland Cavaliers had defeated the Charlotte Bobcats - they did not - the Sixers would have clinched a playoff berth. Collins told his team it needed this game more than Houston for this reason: The season's goal was right there, within reach.

"We knew we needed this win to help us clinch the playoffs, and if Charlotte loses I think they said that we might actually clinch," said Holiday, unaware that the Bobcats had barely hung on for victory.

Holiday was informed: Charlotte won.

"Dang it," Holiday said, genuinely disappointed.

"I think our team really wants to be in the playoffs," said Holiday, who scored 24 points. ". . . Just the atmosphere, everybody has been talking about it. I'm excited; I'm ready for it."