Lou Williams sparks Philadelphia to a 95-94 win over the Bucks
The Philadelphia 76ers were hoping to avoid a third straight loss for the first time in almost two months, as they hosted the offensively charged Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
They nearly made a mess of it.
After coughing up a 15-point advantage midway through the match, the Sixers were on the cusp of another demoralising loss. However, Lou Williams managed to save the home teams’ blushes on the night. The reserve guard sprung off the bench to pound 25 points,
including a go-ahead three-pointer with 43 seconds to go, the latest in his game-breaking efforts this season.
Andre Iguodala put in another all-round performance for the Sixers with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds, to go along with a steal and a block. Elton Brand had 15 while Jrue holiday finished with 10 points, as Philadelphia scored at an impressive
57.1 percent from the field, and 50 percent from downtown.
The short-handed Bucks who were without Michael Redd (left knee injury), Brandon Jennings (left foot surgery) and Carlos Delfino (concussion) however, played with the same passion and hustle that saw them tripping some of the best teams in the league in
the 2010-11 season.
Helpless against a prolific Sixers conversion rate (20 for 32 - 62.5 percent) from the field in the first half, the Bucks let it rip as soon as the Sixers cooled off. Six Milwaukee players scored in double figures. Corey Maggette led with 16 points off the
bench while Ersan Ilyasova snatched 14 points to support the assault.
The match started at a furious pace with both teams raining in one shot after another. The parity that prevailed throughout most of the first quarter was finally nipped, as Lou William shot five in a row to jump-start an 8-0 run, capped by an Iguodala triple
pointer.
The spurt carried the Sixers to a 28-23 lead going into the second quarter. They started the second period from where they left off in the first, pulling off an 11-4 run early. The Bucks tried to rally back but were consistently outpaced by a red hot Philadelphia
offence. However, they managed an 8-2 surge in the last three minutes of the first half to make it a six-point game.
The Sixers countered the Bucks advance with a barrage of triple pointers and jumpers in the second half, and maintained a 10-plus point lead going into the last two minutes of the frame.
However, the persistent Bucks finally outmanoeuvred the Sixers’ defence late in the third quarter as they sprinted to 17-4 run, bridging the third and the early part of the fourth quarter. The vociferous spurt not only slashed the Bucks deficit, but ensured
they went ahead midway through the fourth on John Salmons' three-pointer.
With two and a half minutes to go in the final stanza, the match was tied at 92 all. At that point, Corey Maggette pulled off a driving lay-up which put the Bucks ahead at 94-92. However, the visitors failed to score twice on the same possession after Iguodala
muffed the ball. The Sixers finally managed a possession and Williams made the most of it, knocking the ball down from long-range to hand his team a 95-94 lead.
With 43 seconds to go, the Bucks were still in the game. However, they missed two jumpers from within and beyond the arc in the dying seconds, to allow the Sixers to squeak out a one-point victory.
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