The 76ers came into Sacramento Sunday night on a pitiful 15 game road losing streak. To make things seem worse, the Sixer were also coming off a terrible loss in Denver where they blew a 5 point lead in the final minute. But the Sixers would not dwell on the loss or their recent road woes and instead came onto the court looking quite confident and this would lead to a well-deserved win.
Although Sacramento held a healthy lead for most of the first half with excellent play by Tyreke Evans, the Sixers would cut the deficit to 2 points with around 2:00 remaining in the half. Dorell Wright had the hot hand from beyond the arc and would finally tie the contest up at 54. The teams entered the locker rooms tied at 58. Both teams received great contributions from their reserves. Wright led the 76ers at half with 16 points and Lavoy Allen also added quality minutes off the bench. Philadelphia's bench had 30 of their 58 first half points. Evans led the Kings with 14 points and Thornton added 12.
The 76ers came out of the break and took their first lead since early in the first quarter and would not surrender it for the remainder of the game. Jrue Holiday had a very productive second half, helping his Sixers in every possible category including scoring, ball movement, rebounding, and defense. Sacramento suffered a huge blow as DeMarcus Cousins picked up his 5th foul early in the 3rd forcing him to sit as he had a minimal impact on the game for the Kings. The Sixers would quickly expand their lead to 21 early in the final quarter with continued great play from their reserves. Lavoy Allen showed great effort on the glass and offense as he accumulated a career-high 20 points. Doug Collins stayed animated throughout the final minutes trying to ensure his team would not blow the lead like they did in Denver, and they would not. Philadelphia would hold on and win 117-103 to snap their 15 game road losing streak
Coach Collins praised his team after the game as he was elated to finally win away from home. The Sixers' offense played very efficiently in this game, scoring 117 points on 49% shooting and committing only 9 turnovers. Six players for the 76ers scored in double figures. Philadelphia also won the rebounding battle 48-37 and they collected 17 boards on the offensive glass. Holiday had 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals in as part of his great performance. Wright added 22 points off the bench off great 3-point shooting and Hawes had a double-double and he appeared fueled by the Kings' fans booing throughout the game after his comments about the King's franchise moving to Seattle. Isaiah Thomas led Sacramento with 25 points and Evans finished with 19. The Sixers play in Utah against the Jazz on Monday and hope to turn this into a road winning streak.
No comments:
Post a Comment