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Two teams struggling to stay in sight of the 8th seed meet in the City of Brotherly Love
The news is not much better after three periods in Philadelphia.
After falling behind by 20 points against the 76ers, the Cavaliers still find themselves down by 15 as the final quarter begins. Philly leads 89-74.
J.J. Hickson leads the Cavs with 18. Mo Williams is the only other player in double figures for the road-weary Clevelanders, who are on the verge of losing their fifth straight game.
The Cavaliers find themselves in an all-too-familiar position at halftime tonight in Philadelphia, as the 76ers have had little problem piling up the points and lead the Good Guys by twelve at the intermission, 66-54.
Thaddeus Young leads three ’Sixers in double figures with 17 points, while for Cleveland, J.J. Hickson has eleven points, Anthony Parker leads with three boards, and Mo Williams has five assists.
For the half, the Cavs shot 58% from the field, so it is not the offense that is hurting in tonight's contest. Cleveland is actually shooting better than Philadelphia’s 56.5%, but four extra field goals for the 76ers and four more free throws accounts for the margin at the break.
The Cavaliers' bench, a strength of the team all year, is at it again tonight, scoring 28 points, exactly the same amount as the starters have put up. On the other hand, Philadelphia's starters have outscored their reserves, 38-28.
The Cavaliers, in the throes of a debilitating losing streak at present, trail by nine at 35-26 after the first quarter in Philadelphia.
Joey Graham was the leading first-period scorer with six points for the Cavs, who have not won since beating Memphis on November 27.
(Sports Network) - 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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Cavs Lose Fifth In A Row By 10 Or More Points; Sixers Latest Beneficiaries, 117-97
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – The 76ers found a way to beat Cleveland at home.
Then again, everyone is picking on the Cavaliers these days.
Thaddeus Young scored a game-high 26 points off the bench to lead the Sixers to a 117-97 win Tuesday that snapped an eight-game home losing streak to the Cavs dating back nearly five years.
Jodie Meeks started for the second game in a row and scored 16 points and Jrue Holiday also had 16 for the Sixers, who have won four of five since a 1-8 stretch.
J.J. Hickson scored 18 to lead the Cavs, who have lost five straight games — all by 10 points or more.
Dec 07 8:36p by Richard Bauer - 0 comments