Sixers take care of shorthanded Hornets

NEW ORLEANS - With an offense that bordering on anemic, 76ers coach Doug Collins wanted to make scoring a little bit easier for his team. The instruction was to push the ball at every instance - after misses, makes, timeouts, injuries. Well, you get the picture.

The most opportune time to get the ball down the floor, of course, is after a defensive stop. The Sixers did that very well early in the game against the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday, limiting them to one make in their first nine attempts. Problem was, the Sixers made only two of their first nine shots and turned the ball over four times in that time frame. The offensive ugliness had reached a new low.

But as if to one-up the Sixers, New Orleans started the second half with five turnovers and three missed shots, including a block, in its first eight possessions. Meanwhile, the Sixers had a little extra pep in their step, protected the ball better, and quickly broke out to breathable lead, eventually knocking off the shorthanded Hornets by 77-62. It was the lowest point total by the Hornets in their 24 seasons.

"We were just so hesitant and indecisive in the first half on offense," Collins said. "Passing up shots to try and throw a pass into an area where there was no place to go. We were so out of sync. We had 14 turnovers in the first half. I told our guys that we had a playoff game last year and I think we had five [turnovers] under the greatest pressure you can have. It was carelessness.

"I think we had nine straight stops at the end of the second quarter, and then we stopped them 10 out of 11 to start the third. We started moving the ball. Guys made some shots, which was good. The effort was great, and I thought we had some guys come off the bench and really help us."

If the Sixers were night in the first half, they were day in the second, when they outscored the Hornets by 41-25, limited New Orleans to 9-for-32 shooting (28.1 percent) and, most important, turned the ball over only once.

Jrue Holiday collected 14 points and 12 assists, while Evan Turner added 14 points and Thaddeus Young had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Lavoy Allen chipped in 12 points and Spencer Hawes had 11.

The key to the second-half surge may have had to do with the team's thinking, or lack of it. Instead of wondering so much about where the ball should go and when, the second half was more reaction, and it benefited the Sixers.

"I think that's why I had so many turnovers [seven], because I'm trying to think to make the right play or get the ball to the right person, but sometimes you just have to swing it and let it come naturally," Holiday said. "That's what we did in the second half, and then scoring was pretty easy."

While the Sixers again played without Jason Richardson (ankle) and Kwame Brown (calf), New Orleans was without its vaunted rookie duo of Anthony Davis, who is out with a mild concussion, and Austin Rivers, who has a sprained left index finger.

Whether it was the limited rosters or good defense, both clubs struggled mightily at the offensive end in the first half, as New Orleans took a 37-36 lead despite making 37.8 percent of its shots (14-for-37) and committing 10 turnovers. They were severely aided by the Sixers, who turned the ball over consistently, never got to the foul line and dealt only nine assists on their 17 baskets.

The corrections made at the half proved vital.

"We started protecting the ball," Turner said. "Half of the turnovers in the first half were careless. In the second half, we had one turnover and went up 20. Instead of getting the game over early in the night, I guess we like to make it hard on ourselves, and it got over late.

"I just took what the defense gave me and stopped thinking, shot my shot."

Maybe this whole thinking the game through is overrated, after all. Still, after two pounding losses to the Knicks to begin the week, the Sixers needed a win and were fortunate to get the opponent they did.

"It wasn't any masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but our guys are growing," Collins said. "The way they are talking to each other, and it's nice to get a win. But we have to get better and we will. We will."