Sunday, March 06, 2011

Iggy does it again as Sixers stop Warriors in OT

Philadelphia - He may have needed five extra minutes to do it but Andre Iguodala's second consecutive triple-double lifted the Sixers past the Golden State Warriors in overtime, 125-117, at Wells Fargo Center.

Iguodala ended with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh career triple-double and third this season as Philadelphia overcame a brilliant fourth quarter by the Warriors' Monta Ellis.

Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner paced the Sixers with 20 points off the bench while Lou Williams had 19.

Turner finished the game 9-for-15 from the floor with seven rebounds and three assists in just over 28 minutes of action as Sixers coach Doug Collins went small for much of the fourth quarter and overtime to match up with a high octane Golden State team.

"I just feel at the second half of the season, I started making that turn," Turner said. "I'm just attacking and being a little more assertive."

Overall, Philadelphia's reserves, the highest scoring bench unit in the league, finished with a season-high 67 points.

Jrue Holiday added 16 points, eight boards and seven assists while Elton Brand had 12 points and Jodie Meeks finished with 11 for the Sixers, who climbed to two games over the .500 mark for the first time since April 9, 2009.

Ellis had a game-high 27 points, 16 in the fourth quarter, and buried two threes in the final 10 seconds of regulation to force the extra frame for the Warriors, who have dropped two in a row and six of their last seven.

"We had to have Hercules in Ellis to make two big, big plays to get it into overtime but we shouldn't have gotten into that position. In these types of settings you have to be determined to get that loose ball, that long rebound or whatever it may be."

Stephen Curry added 22 points and seven assists while Dorell Wright had 16 points and David Lee contributed 14 and 14 rebounds.

"What a game," Collins said. "That Golden State team is hard to play against. Monta Ellis is an incredible player. That guy can score and score some more."

The last Sixer to record consecutive triple-doubles was Aaron McKie, a current Collins assistant, back in the team's Eastern Conference championship season of 2000-01.

"We put the ball in his hands, he guarded Ellis at the end of the game and he was terrific," Collins said of Iguodala.

Six Shots:

*The Sixers are 2-4 in overtime games this season.

*All three of Iguodala's triple-doubles this season have come in the past seven games.

*This was Turner's second highest scoring performance in his rookie season behind a 23-point effort at Phoenix on Dec. 27.

*Philly is now 8-2 when Young scores 20-or-more.


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