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Hot-shooting Meeks leads Sixers over Cavaliers

THE 76ERS have a rare couple of days, Wednesday and Thursday, without a game. Coach Doug Collins planned to get in a light practice Wednesday, then a "good one" on Thursday.

Jodie Meeks' career-high 31 points helped the Sixers get back on the winning track. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
Jodie Meeks' career-high 31 points helped the Sixers get back on the winning track. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)Read more

THE 76ERS have a rare couple of days, Wednesday and Thursday, without a game. Coach Doug Collins planned to get in a light practice Wednesday, then a "good one" on Thursday.

Really, his club got in a pretty good practice session at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Guard Jodie Meeks, subbing in the starting lineup for injured Andre Iguodala (left knee tendinitis) for the second straight game, got in plenty of shooting reps, making 11 of 16 from the floor en route to a career-high 31 points. Evan Turner worked on his rebounding (seven) and turned many of them into points (12). Jrue Holiday sharpened his scoring skills with 19 points and dealt six assists, and the Sixers rolled to an insomnia-curing 103-85 win over Cleveland. The session was so good that Collins decided to give his players the day off Wednesday.

As is usual when he scores a lot, Meeks got off to a rapid start, scoring 10 of the team's first 12 points. He precisely floated to open areas all over the court, drained seven of his 10 three-pointers and spread the defense enough to help the Sixers score 54 points in the paint, 30 more than the Cavs.

"That's what Jodie does, he scores," said Holiday, who is averaging 18.3 points in his last six games. "If he's missing, he's staying positive and he keeps on shooting. He makes the game a lot easier [when he's scoring]. He definitely opens up the paint because people have to guard him. And if people don't guard him, he has games like this."

And when Meeks is scoring, the Sixers usually have games like this - wins. Four times he's scored 15 or more in a game this season and the Sixers haven't lost. Not a bad stat for someone who rarely, if ever, gets a play called for him.

"I just know I was open," Meeks said. "I was relaxed and just shot. I haven't been shooting as well, but I just try to take good shots and whatever happens, happens. I'm always a player with confidence, as long as I'm taking good shots. Coach Collins says the same thing, 'Take good shots, don't force it and live with the results.' "

They certainly could live with Tuesday's results as the Sixers upped their record to 28-22 and secured a half-game lead over idle Boston in the Atlantic Division.

Meeks started the first 38 games before Turner took his spot in the starting lineup. One of the team's hardest workers and not a complainer, Meeks settled into his new role whether he liked it or not. Now, with Iguodala down, he's a starter again.

"Jodie was never benched," Collins said with a laugh. "Benched is a harsh word. Jodie is a professional. Whether Jodie is starting or whether Jodie is coming off the bench, he plays the same way and that's why I didn't think it would be a huge adjustment for him. He comes in and he's always ready. He's got a motor, he comes in and he's ready to go. A lot of guys, that's hard to do. We're blessed. We have three guys who can do it - we have Thad [Young], we have Lou [Williams] and we have Jodie - who can do that.

"I was happy for Jodie. He is one of the nicest young guys on our team, he's beloved by his teammates, everybody cheers for him. He always works and he's always ready. It's great to see him do that. When he gets three or four shots, it means the ball is not moving. When he gets eight or nine, the ball's usually moving and it will find him. Sometimes it's not if he's making the shots but is he getting the shots?"

Williams collected 11 points and a team-high seven assists, while Spencer Hawes went for 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists in another step toward getting to 100 percent healthy after missing most of the season with his Achilles' injury.

"Spencer gets so down on himself," Collins said. "He still doesn't have his legs. That's why he hasn't been down in the paint as much. [Tuesday] was nice, he got a couple of tip-ins down there and he got down in the paint. He is as good a passing center as there is in the league. We try to run our offense through him a lot. We ran a lot of actions. Spencer had five assists and we had two or three missed layups. He could have had eight or nine assists tonight. But he's still getting his legs back."

As is the whole team, after going through a recent 20-game stretch in which there were 13 losses. Now it's getting to crunch time.

"I told them, 'Last year with a new coach you started out 3-13 and we dug ourselves out and we had a great stretch and we made the playoffs and we did a good job against Miami [in the playoffs],'" Collins said. "This year going into [Tuesday's] game we had a little 7-13 stretch. The difference is we'd all been together. We know we're resilient. We know what we have to do. We think we have some nice pieces."

On Tuesday night, none nicer than Meeks.