Philadelphia (The Phanatic Magazine) - Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young took over the game in the fourth quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game skid with a 102-86 win over Atlantic Division rival New Jersey in front of 14,150 at Wells Fargo Center.
Williams had 11 of his 15 points in the final frame while Young had nine of his 13 as the Sixers outscored the Nets 36-20 on 15-of-19 shooting in the quarter to blow open the game.
"Anytime we can put together a fourth quarter run like that, that's big," Young said. "We had the fourth quarter push. Me, Dre [Andre Iguodala], Jrue [Holiday] and Lou [Williams] and all of us put in some work and went out there and got the job done."
Holiday recorded a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 13 assists for the Sixers, who snared just their fourth win of the season (4-13). Iguodala contributed 16 points and seven rebounds, while Elton Brand finished with 14 points and 10 boards.
Veteran center Tony Battie, who did not play in the first half, toiled for the final 15:45 and finished with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting with six rebounds while doggedly defending Nets star center Brook Lopez.
"It was a great effort by our bench tonight," Brand said. "That is what he [Doug Collins] was trying to instill with us, play to win, do not play to lose. A lot of late-game collapses came because we were playing not to lose, trying to be too careful with it. Jrue Holiday had a great game, and Tony Battie off the bench. It was a great win for us."
Lopez had a game-high 25 points for New Jersey, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Devin Harris added 19 points and six assists, while Kris Humphries had 15 rebounds.
"It was a tough loss for us," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We started off the game slow, then we picked it up a little bit in the second quarter and then, again a poor fourth quarter. They turned up the pressure on their defense. We couldn't score or defend in the fourth which has been a problem for us recently."
With the game deadlocked at 66, Young set the tone in the fourth during a 10-2 Sixers run to start the frame. Young scored the first seven points in the spurt before Iguodala finished it with a three-pointer for a 76-68 Philly advantage with nine minutes to go.
Lopez's bucket cut the margin to 78-74 near the seven-minute mark, but a Williams four-point play sparked a 12-2 flurry for the hosts. Battie's jumper then provided a 90-76 cushion with 4 1/2 minutes to go, and it was a double-digit contest the rest of the way.
The Sixers rode strong opening quarters from Holiday and Iguodala en route to a 27-24 edge after the first 12 minutes. Philadelphia's starting point guard had eight points and five assists in the first frame while Iguodala
contributed nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Lopez carried the Nets, tallying 13 points thanks in large part to 10 trips to the free throw line as he drew two fouls on both Spencer Hawes and Marreese Speights. The Sixers, meanwhile, did not go to the charity stripe in the first quarter.
Things remained tight in the second quarter but Philadelphia struggled offensively and New Jersey played the frontrunner, leading by as many as six points before settling for a 48-46 advantage at intermission.
Despite hiccups from both clubs in the third quarter, the game was deadlocked at 66 heading to the final frame.
Six Shots:
*Holiday has also recorded 13 assists two other times.
*Brand has four double-doubles this season.
*All four Sixers wins have been by double-digits.
*The teams combined for just 11 turnovers, a season-low five for the Sixers and a season-low six for New Jersey.
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