Monday, January 17, 2011

Sixers outlast Bobcats in OT

Philadelphia - Lou Williams buried a three-pointer from the deep corner with 4.9 seconds left to deadlock things and the Sixers went on to outlast the Charlotte Bobcats, 96-92, in overtime during a Martin Luther Ling Jr. Day matinee at Wells Fargo Center.

Williams scored all 23 of his points after halftime for the Sixers, who kept the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff standings in the win. Andre Iguodala finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia and made a huge jumper over Kwame Brown with under 40 seconds to go in the extra frame that gave the Sixers the lead for good.

Rookie Evan Turner had just six points on 1-of-7 shooting but had 11 boards and made four key throws in the waning seconds of overtime to secure things for the 76ers, who won their first overtime game of the season and capped a three-game home stand at 2-1.

Elton Brand contributed a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Jrue Holiday and Marreese Speights each netted 10 points. Holiday also had six assists but shot just 3-of-14 from the floor.

Thaddeus Young, who came into the game ninth in the NBA with a .543 field goal percentage, had one of his worst shooting days as a pro, garnering just nine points on 4-of-16 from the floor and 1-of-6 from the free throw nine.

Boris Diaw gave the Sixers fits, recording a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bobcats, who lost their third straight contest. Kwame Brown had season-highs with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Philadelphia looked poised to blow a large fourth quarter lead when Brand was whistled for a flagrant foul on a Brown bucket. The big man hit the ensuing free throw and the Bobcats took advantage of the extra possession when Diaw hit a three for what turned out to be a six-point play. Moments later, Jackson deposited another three that capped a 13-0 run to put the Bobcats up 81-79 with just over three minutes to go.

The Sixers found themselves down three, 86-83, when Matt Carroll converted a pair of free throws with 7.7 ticks left. However, after a timeout, Williams pump-faked D.J. Augustin, and hit the tying three that ignited the crowd.

"I was mostly disappointed with the last shot they made because we were supposed to switch out on that and didn't and the guy got a wide-open look," Bobcats interim coach Paul Silas said of Williams' big shot.

Six Shots:

*That was Diaw's sixth career triple-double and first since Dec. 15, 2006.  It was just the second triple-double in Bobcats history. Stephen Jackson had the other on Nov. 20 this season against Phoenix.

*Charlotte had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, the most by any Sixers foe in any half this season.

*This was the Sixers 12th home win (12-7), matching their total from all of last season (12-29).

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