After a season filled with turmoil and
injuries, the Indiana Pacers finally are at full strength.
Stephen Jackson, Peja Stojakovic, Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine
O'Neal started together for the first time this season, and they
all played major roles in Indiana's 92-79 win over Philadelphia on
Sunday afternoon.
Jackson scored 23 points, Stojakovic added 18, Tinsley finished
with a season-high 14 assists and O'Neal added 11 points and nine
rebounds. It's a group Indiana had been hoping to get on the floor
since Stojakovic joined the team two months ago in the trade that
sent Ron Artest to Sacramento.
Tinsley and O'Neal started for the first time in two months
after injuries. Jackson, who benefited most from the upgraded
lineup, said more games like Sunday's should follow.
"It's hard to double-team us," Jackson said. "Before Peja
came and J.O. came back, I was getting double-teamed. I never
thought I'd get double-teamed in my life. But with them out there,
it's easier to beat my man."
Reserve Danny Granger had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jeff
Foster grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Pacers recover from Friday
night's 75-72 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Philadelphia lost its
second straight.
Allen Iverson scored 26 points and Chris Webber added 24 for the
76ers, but no other Philadelphia player scored more than eight.
Iverson, the league's second-leading scorer, shot 2-for-12 from the
field in the second half.
Iverson said the effort was pathetic for a team that is fighting
to get into the playoffs.
"There's no way to explain it," he said. "We got beat up
today. We are not stopping anybody. It's hard to get into a running
game or get easy baskets when you are always taking the ball out of
bounds after the other team scores."
Tinsley, who guarded Iverson for much of the game, wasn't as
worried about starting as he was about getting on the floor. He has
played in only 34 of the Pacers' 68 games because of right elbow
and biceps injuries.
"I'm just happy to be out there," he said. "I've had two
tough injuries, but that's the nature of the business. I'm just
glad to have the opportunity to play. I just go out there and do
it."
Indiana held Philadelphia to 37 percent shooting and
outrebounded the 76ers 48-36 in a sloppy game that featured a
combined 45 turnovers. The Pacers set a season high with 29
turnovers.
The Pacers shot 50 percent in the first half to offset their 15
turnovers and take a 52-45 lead at the break. Granger scored 15
points and Foster grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half.
peja stojakovic highlights 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最佳解答
After beating up on some of
the NBA's lightweights, the Philadelphia 76ers wilted down the
stretch against one of its heavyweights.
Bobby Jackson scored half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter
and Chris Webber came alive in the second half as the
Sacramento Kings posted a 107-99 victory over the 76ers, who had
a nine-game winning streak stopped.
It was the first loss since the All-Star break for Philadelphia,
which did much of its damage during its run against teams
looking at the NBA Lottery.
During their streak, the Sixers had a pair of wins over Chicago
and Cleveland, one against Memphis and another at Denver. Those
teams are a combined 116 games under the .500 mark.
On Monday, the Sixers hung tough against the league's third-best
team and held a 95-94 lead with 2:51 remaining following a
basket by Keith Van Horn.
But the Kings took over, outscoring the Sixers 13-4 the rest of
the way. Peja Stojakovic gave the Kings the lead for good at
the 2:36 mark with a jumper and, after a timeout, Doug Christie
had a steal and layup.
After Van Horn's basket, the Sixers had four empty trips in a
row. Eric Snow made an errant pass that Christie turned into
his layup, Snow missed two free throws and Van Horn had
turnovers on the next two possessions.
"I know myself, I had a big turnover and missed a couple of free
throws and that hurt us," Snow said. "They made baskets and
made the stops at the end. I thought we fought so long and had
a great opportunity at the end but that's what happens when you
play a great team like that."
"I think we made some mental mistakes, a couple of turnovers
that allowed them to get easy baskets, and they really got
momentum because of it," said Van Horn, who scored 17 points.
Stojakovic drilled another jumper with 1:19 remaining and Mike
Bibby made two free throws with 49 seconds to go, making it
102-95.
Webber scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half as the
Kings won for the sixth time in their last seven games. He also
added 10 rebounds.
"I really thought we did a nice job of staying with this game,"
Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "They are playing so well, and
Iverson was making shots, but we kept saying, `Don't give them
easy baskets.'" We gave them enough to hang around. In the end
we made some nice plays to open it up."
Vlade Divac also provided problems for the Sixers. The
Yugoslavian center finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and
seven assists.
Allen Iverson scored 35 points and Snow added 15 and 13 assists
for Philadelphia, which fell 3 1/2 games behind first-place New
Jersey in the Atlantic Division.
"I don't feel good about our loss at all," said Iverson, who
went 13-of-23 from the floor. "I don't care anything about
moral victories. I'm too far along in my career to even care
about moral victories, especially if we have a chance to win the
game."
With Bibby plagued by foul trouble, Jackson was quiet for the
first three quarters before coming alive over the final 12
minutes.
After Webber's jumper provided a 85-83 lead with 7:25 to go,
Jackson converted a spectacular reverse layup and drilled a
3-pointer, giving the Kings a 90-83 lead.
It was still a seven-point game with 4:24 to play following a
hook by Webber, who played aggressively in the second half. The
star forward went 10-of-15 from the floor over the final two
quarters after going just 2-of-6 prior to the break.
"I wanted to be aggressive," Webber said. "We heard the murmurs
and that is kind of why you like to play on the road, 'cause
your supposed to miss on the road, but I just wanted to come out
in the second half and take the same shots and have them go
down."
"They made an effort to get him the ball down low and they
weren't doing that (in the first half)," Van Horn said. "He's
a tough guy to guard down there."
But the Sixers, who were playing for the third time in four
nights, would not go quietly. Iverson scored six straight
points, and Van Horn's basket gave the Sixers their last lead at
95-94.
Iverson and Snow clearly got the better of the backcourt matchup
with Bibby and Christie. The Sixers' duo held a 50-18
advantage in points and had a combined seven steals, including
five by Iverson.
Iverson's 19-footer with 8:46 left in the third quarter helped
the Sixers match their biggest lead at 64-57.
peja stojakovic highlights 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最佳貼文
Protecting double-digit leads has been especially maddening for the Philadelphia 76ers this season.
This time, they just got mad.
Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand scored 18 points each, Allen Iverson added 16 and the 76ers snapped a four-game home losing streak with a 96-92 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night.
"We were a little angry and I thought it helped us," said Brand, who fouled out. "We played with a purpose in the fourth quarter. I think this win will give us a nice boost of confidence."
Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams added 12 points each and Samuel Dalembert had six points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for the Sixers, who had lost nine of 10 at home.
Dalembert had 12 rebounds in the first quarter, the most in one quarter by a Philadelphia player since the Wachovia Center opened for the 1996-97 season.
"Sam's been playing pretty well pretty much all season," Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan said. "We're happy about the things he's giving us. It just seems like he's getting more and more aggressive each game."
Dalembert entered the game tied for fourth in the league in blocked shots (2.17) with Atlanta's Josh Smith.
"I'm confident in my teammates, so I just go out there and give everything," Dalembert said.
Emeka Okafor had 20 points and 11 rebounds, David West added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul had 13 points and 14 assists for the Hornets, whose season-best six-game winning streak was snapped.
New Orleans lost on the road for the first time in four games since Jan. 1.
"We battled back three times," Hornets coach Jeff Bower said. "It was very difficult to fight back and come up short."
With the score tied at 92, Iguodala started to drive and then passed to Dalembert, who hit a short hook from the baseline with 25.5 seconds left.
"The man stepped up and my initial reaction was to throw it to the open man," said Iguodala, who added eight assists and five rebounds.
Peja Stojakovic misfired on a 3-point attempt and Iguodala converted two free throws for a 96-92 lead with 13.2 seconds left.
"It's my shot," Stojakovic said. "I thought I had a good look, but Iguodala came flying at me."
Brand hit a 15-foot jumper to give the Sixers a 91-88 lead with 2:12 remaining before Paul responded with a clutch 3-pointer to tie it at 91 with 1:14 left.
Iverson connected on one of two free throws for a 92-91 lead with 57 seconds to go.
Okafor made one of two free throws with 42.6 seconds left to tie the game again.
An 11-0 run in the fourth by Philadelphia pushed its lead to 86-76 with 7:43 remaining.
But the Sixers have had trouble holding double-digit leads all season and watched the Hornets come right back with a 9-0 run to close within 86-85 with 3:54 left.
"We kept our poise," Brand said.
The Sixers led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but the Hornets responded with a late 13-1 run to get within 46-43.
Philadelphia led 48-43 at halftime.
Before the game, the Hornets traded center Hilton Armstrong and cash considerations to Sacramento for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2016. Armstrong was the 12th overall selection in the 2006 draft.
Additionally, New Orleans guard Darren Collison was a late scratch with a bruised right knee.
Game notes
Jordan said "It doesn't bother me" that 76ers president Ed Stefanski refused to say the embattled first-year coach would last the remainder of the season. Asked on Friday to review Jordan, Stefanski said, "I'm not happy with anything." Jordan said they spoke over the weekend, but wanted to keep the conversation private. ... Jordan said he's hoping regular treatment will improve Iverson's arthritic left knee. "If we manage it correctly, and he's diligent with his rehab and his workouts, it will get better," he said. ... Paul was charged with a technical foul with 9:35 left in regulation.