Sixers hold off Celtics

By Tim McManus
The Phanatic Magazine

Kyle Korver dropped in 26 points off the bench as the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the Boston Celtics, 88-82, in a battle of the two worst teams in the Atlantic Division at the Wachovia Center.

Andre Iguodala finished with 23 points and 12 assists while Samuel Dalembert chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who have won three of four but remain a longshot to capture a playoff berth.

Al Jefferson led his team with 20 points and eight rebounds and Delonte West scored 16 for Boston, which had a two-game winning streak come to and end and continues to carry the Eastern Conference's worst record. Paul Pierce did not play in the game due to a sore elbow.

Philadelphia scored the last five points of the first quarter -- including a Louis Williams three-pointer with just one second on the clock -- to assume a 25-20 lead.

Boston went ice cold in the second quarter, going just 1-of-13 from the floor and committing seven turnovers in the final 10:30 as the Sixers assumed a 44-31 lead by intermission.

The home team broke off a 14-2 run in the midst of those struggles, including four straight points by Korver that pushed the advantage to 14 with 3:06 on the clock. Andre Miller capped the surge with a pair of free throws moments later to make it 44-28.

Korver ended the half with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Iguodala had 11 points and seven assists before the break.

Boston came storming back, outscoring the Sixers 27-23 in the third to cut its deficit to nine before clawing back to tie it in the fourth. The key was a 7-0 burst, which Leon Powe polished off with two from the charity stripe with 7:19 remaining to knot the score at 70-70.

West tied it again at 73-73 moments later with a driving layup, but Korver countered with a triple from the left baseline to put his club ahead for good. That was the start of a 10-2 spurt for the Sixers, who assumed an 83-75 lead with 2:25 on the clock following a Miller free throw.

The Celtics got no closer than five the rest of the way.