Sixers collapse and lose in Denver

DENVER - The ending was emblematic of just how things have gone for the 76ers.

Leading by six points late in the game against the Denver Nuggets, the Sixers let it all slip away and lost a game they had won, falling to the Nuggets, 101-100, Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.

With 7.1 seconds left and the Sixers leading, 100-98, Evan Turner missed a pair of free throws, allowing the Nuggets, who called a timeout, one last shot to win the game.

Then Damien Wilkins fouled Denver's Corey Brewer as he attempted a three-pointer. Brewer stepped to the line and sank all three free throws to give the Nuggets the victory and extend their winning streak to 14 games.

"I don't know; the referee said I fouled him, so I must have fouled him," Wilkins said. "I was just trying to challenge the shot aggressively and not let him get a clean look. I was a little bit too aggressive tonight and I cost my team a win tonight. I can't foul a guy shooting a thee-pointer when we're up two.

"So we didn't deserve to win the game. Being overly aggressive cost us one, so you live and you learn."

Turner was equally unhappy about the free throws that could have iced the game. "I have to make those shots then," he said. "I have to. I cost my team the game. That's the way it's been going for us, the season in a nutshell. But I have to make those shots."

The Sixers lost for the 15th straight time on the road. They have not won away from the Wells Fargo Center since they beat the Los Angeles Lakers on New Year's Day.

Somehow, the Sixers let a sure victory slip away.

They led, 100-95, when Jrue Holiday made two free throws with 14 seconds left. But Brewer made a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to give his team hope.

They had scored relatively easily for most of the night. Wilkins lead the way with 24 points. All of the Sixers starters scored in double figures, with Holiday and Thaddeus Young finishing with 18 points apiece. Spencer Hawes finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Holiday had a game-high 15 assists.

Brewer, who came off the bench, led all scorers with 29 points.

The Nuggets' win streak has been largely overlooked because LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammates are running through the rest of the league. It is their longest winning streak since joining the NBA in the 1976-77. However, it is just the third longest in the league this season. Earlier this season the Clippers won 17 straight.

Going into Thursday's game with the Sixers, the Nuggets were coming off perhaps their two biggest victories in the streak, a pair of road wins at Chicago and more recently a victory over defending Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City.