Recap: Philadelphia vs. Golden State
Sports Network | November 23, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Elton Brand scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-81 victory over the Golden State Warriors at Wachovia Center.
Andre Iguodala added 15 points for the Sixers, who have won five of six. Thaddeus Young had 12 points, while Samuel Dalembert scored eight points and recorded 16 rebounds -- including nine on the offensive end -- in the victory.
Kelenna Azubuike scored a team-high 16 points for the Warriors, who have lost two in a row and again played without Jamal Crawford, who was recently acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks. Stephen Jackson added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Andris Biedrins had 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Heading into the fourth down 10, Brandan Wright's jumper with nine minutes left cut the Golden State deficit to seven, and a Wright layup a minute later cut it to 76-70. Anthony Morrow hit a three to make it a three-point game and hit another three on the next possession to tie the game at 76 with 6:30 to play.
Young hit a layup to put the Sixers back up two, and Andre Miller added a jumper to increase the lead to four. A Miller-to-Iguodala alley-oop made it a six-point game, but Azubuike hit a three to make it 84-81 with just under three minutes to play.
Miller answered with a three-pointer, and he hit two free throws with 1:53 left to make it 89-81, and the Sixers cruised to victory from there.
"That was a tale of two halves out there," Sixers head coach Maurice Cheeks said. "I thought the first half, our defense was good, our offense was good, a lot of good things in the first half. In the second half, we obviously didn't guard the screen-and-roll the way we had been before."
The 76ers took an early 19-7 lead in the first quarter, thanks to nine points from Brand. Brand's point total led all scorers in the opening frame, and Philadelphia took a 27-17 lead to the second quarter.
Brand continued his scoring run, adding eight more points in the second quarter as the Sixers took a 57-39 halftime advantage. Philadelphia closed on a 13-4 run sparked by two Young three-pointers.
The Warriors cut into the deficit in the third quarter, outscoring the Sixers 23-15, but Philadelphia still held a 10-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
"At the end of the day it was a tough match up," the Warriors' Corey Maggette said. "We played great tonight and I think we should have gone bigger earlier. Towards the end, we did a great job."
The Warriors had won the last five meetings with the 76ers...The Sixers won despite shooting only 39.8 percent (37-of-93) from the field. Golden State shot 43.6 percent (34-of-78)...Miller finished with nine points and eight assists...Wright had 10 points, while C.J. Watson had 12 points for the Warriors...Golden State had scored 100 points in each of its last four games.
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