The Philadelphia 76ers will resume a four-game homestand tonight when they entertain a reeling Cleveland Cavaliers team at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers won the opener of their residency on Saturday when Jodie Meeks, making just his second career start, poured in career-high 26 points on 7- of-10 shooting from behind the arc, as Philadelphia started strong and never trailed in a 109-91 victory over Charlotte.
Thaddeus Young chipped in 20 points, while Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday each went for 15 points and seven assists for a Sixers team one day removed from blowing an 18-point lead in Atlanta.
Elton Brand added 15 points and 10 boards in the win, Philadelphia's third in four games and fourth straight on its home floor.
Meeks came out of the gates on fire, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range during a 20-point first quarter that tied a floor record set by Allen Iverson.
"I'll do whatever I have to do to help the team get started off right, and tonight it was scoring," Meeks said. "My team did a good job of finding me. We got out to a big lead and we were able to hold it."
The 76ers haven't win five in a row as the host since an eight-game run from Feb. 5-March 7, 2008.
The Cavs, meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight game on Sunday in Auburn Hills when the trio of Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince combined for 71 points, carrying the Detroit Pistons past Cleveland, 102-92.
Antawn Jamison had a team-high 22 points for the Cavaliers, who have been outscored by a whopping 91 points during a four-game skid. Mo Williams ended with 14 points and 10 assists for Cleveland while Daniel Gibson had 12 points and Anderson Varejao grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds in defeat.
"I'm obviously not happy about the loss, but I am a little bit happier because I thought our guys competed tonight," said Cavs head coach Byron Scott.
The Sixers have dropped five straight overall versus the Cavs and eight consecutive against Cleveland in the City of Brotherly Love. Of course most of that damage was inflicted when superstar LeBron James was in Cleveland, although the James-less Cavs have already topped the Sixers twice this season, including a 123-116 win in Philly back on Nov. 5.
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