The 76ers beat the Trailblazers on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center, making it Philadelphia's second win in a row. The Sixers defeated the Pacers Saturday night with terrific games from Jrue Holiday(27 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds) and Spencer Hawes (18 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 blocks). In Monday's game against Portland, these players would once again have great performances.
Philadelphia led for almost the entire game but Portland made it interesting by taking their first lead since the first quarter with 5 minutes remaining in the game. Three minutes later the Sixers would take back the edge with a jumper by Holiday. The drama would continue to the very last play as the Blazers stayed alive with threes from both Aldridge and Lillard to cut the lead to 1. Portland had a chance at the buzzer after a Sixer turnover on the inbound pass, but Aldridge would miss the last shot. The Sixers escaped with a 101-100 win. Philadelphia has won 3 of their last 4. Some teams in this position would tank to get the better draft pick but the Sixers continue to show they have the desire to win even late into this lost season.
Jrue Holiday had a great game, especially in crunch time when his team needed him. Holiday finished 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Spence also provided good numbers for Philly with 18 points and 13 boards while Thad Young added 19. Evan Turner had an off-night in this game, scoring only 2 points on 1-8 shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge had a monster game for the Blazers with 32 points and 14 rebounds but he couldn't hit the game winner as he posted up against Hawes in the final seconds. The likely rookie of the year, Damian Lillard, scored 27 for Portland, including a 3-pointer to cut it to 1 with under a minute remaining.
In other news, on Monday it was announced that Andrew Bynum has elected to have season-ending arthroscopic surgery on both of his knee, although I think its strange to call it 'season-ending' when Bynum's season never really began. While promising many returns after being originally shut down in training camp, this surgery will officially end any chance of Bynum playing for the 76ers this year. The purpose of the surgery is to clean out debris from the knees which will hopefully stop swelling and eliminate any pain. The surgery will be performed in New York on Tuesday. In good news, because Bynum will not play at all this season, his contract will be covered by the league's insurance. He cost the Sixer's nothing but... a wasted, disappointing year. It is a very real possibility that Bynum will never play a game as a Sixer as he is an unrestricted free agent and will most likely follow the money. The summer blockbuster trade that once appeared to provide pieces for the future of the 76ers is now most definitely just a bust.
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