Friday, January 14, 2011

Sixers and Bucks to meet in south Philly


The Philadelphia 76ers will resume a three-game homestand tonight versus the Milwaukee Bucks at Wells Fargo Center.

The 76ers opened the residency with Tuesday's 111-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers, who got a game-high 27 points from Danny Granger to halt a nine-game road losing streak.

Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 19 points and eight assists, while Elton Brand added 18 points in Philadelphia's seventh loss in 11 tries. Evan Turner and Marreese Speights had 14 points apiece off the bench.

"Needless to say, we were in an uphill struggle the whole night. We came out incredibly flat," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

Sixers forward Andre Iguodala made his return after missing seven games with an injured right Achilles. He finished with seven assists, but went 0-for-7 from the field and scored his only point in 33 minutes on a free throw.

Philadelphia will also host Charlotte on the homestand and is 10-7 in the City of Brotherly Love this season. Holiday is averaging 20.0 points over his last nine games for the 76ers, who started the season 1-4 at home but have gone 9-3 since. Philly has scored 100-plus points in each of the past four games after doing so twice in 12 games prior.

An extra day of rest didn't help the Bucks in a 91-84 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday from the Bradley Center. The Bucks' matchup in Atlanta on Tuesday was postponed due to inclement weather and the added time off was no help.

John Salmons finished with 17 points and Andre Bogut added 15 and 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has lost six of its last eight games. Ersan Ilyasova had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Earl Boykins added 12 points off the bench. Boykins has scored in double figures in the past four games.

"I don't want to take anything away from them but we started the second half a little bit slower offensively," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said. "In five possessions we had four turnovers and it hurt us. I wouldn't say they were forced, I thought we just made some questionable decisions and we got a little bit tentative after that."

The Bucks will also make a stop in Houston on their quick trip and own a 6-13 ledger away from the Land of Cheese this season. Salmons has scored in double digits in each of the previous 12 games, averaging 17.1 points in that span.

Philadelphia defeated Milwaukee, 90-79, back on Nov. 19 this season at Wells Fargo Center and has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the teams. The 76ers have won six of eight as the host in this series.

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