Sixers recover to top Bucks

By John McMullen

Philadelphia, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - The Sixers took the NBA's "Go
Green" initiative to heart Friday, at least for the first half.

Tony DiLeo's club conserved a ton of energy in first two frames by failing to
play any defense. The moribund Milwaukee Bucks shot a gaudy 56.1 percent in
the first two frames while building up a nine-point halftime lead, 59-50.

Philly dropped the politically correct game in the third quarter, told Al Gore
to blank off and sat comfortably behind the wheel of a Hummer, as they pounded
the ball down low to get back in the game and eventually run away with a
105-95 win.

"We were very good in the second half," DiLeo said. "We were out there playing
with no sense of urgency early. Our defense turned it around for us."

Lou Williams came off the bench to pace the Sixers with 21 points on 7-of-10
shooting. Andre Iguodala added 20 points and Andre Miller chipped in with 18
points and 11 assists as Philly took a half-game lead over Miami for the fifth
spot in the Eastern Conference.

Reggie Evans netted a season-high 13 points and seven boards.

Ramon Sessions had 18 for the Bucks and Richard Jefferson donated 17 as all
five Milwaukee starters found double figures.

Samuel Dalembert's half hook from deep inside the paint capped an 8-0 run to
even the game at 61 with 7:39 left in the third.

The Jeckyl-and-Hyde play of the Sixers continued, however, and Philly played
matador to the Bucks' bull, allowing three straight lay-ins to fall behind
again.

The back-and-fourth play continued until the Sixers finally went in front,
80-78, on a pair of Marreese Speights free throws with 27.6 seconds left in
the third.

Williams had eight points in the stanza to help Philadelphia get back on
top. The diminutive guard continued to pay dividends early in the fourth with
a drive and kick to Royal Ivey for a three.

The Sixers just couldn't shake Milwaukee, however. Sessions' conventional
three-point play with 5:45 on the clock deadlocked things at 89.

Philadelphia finally buckled down and answered with a 10-0 spurt over the next
few minutes, highlighted by an Iguodala dunk and capped by a Speights' jumper,
to take control, 99-89, with just over three minutes remaining.

The Sixers looked lost on the offensive end for large stretches in their first
game without emerging second-year star Thaddeus Young.

Young, who suffered a sprained right ankle against Atlanta on Wednesday and
will be sidelined anywhere form two to three weeks, was replaced in the
starting lineup by Reggie Evans, a high-energy rebounder and defender.

"Maybe it was an adjustment for everyone (losing Young) and threw them out of
sync," DiLeo said. "I don't want to make excuses, though."

To be kind Evans is offensively challenged but the rugged forward exploded for
nine points in the first quarter and the Sixers managed to stay even, 24-24,
after one.

The Philadelphia bench failed to match Evans' energy and let the Bucks run
around them and shoot over them at will en route to a 35-point second quarter.