NBA Round-up, March 11: Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors win
Philadelphia 76ers 89 – Boston Celtics 86
Philadelphia 76ers fought hard in an evenly poised game to defeat the depleted Boston Celtics by 89-86 at the Wells Fargo Centre, Philadelphia. Five players made it to the double figures for the Sixers with Elton Brand and Spencer
Hawes leading the front by scoring 14 points each.
In a nerve wrecking encounter, the Sixers managed to subdue East’s best to 25-22 in the first twelve minutes of play. The second section wasn’t different from the first. The Sixers continued to pace the game with some immaculate
defence and some probing pick and rolls as they closed the second section with a lead of four points 49-45.
In the second half the Sixers made further inroads into the Celts’ defence and outscored them 12-4 in first five minutes to stretch their lead to 61-51. The Celtics however responded vociferously and reeled off a 15-5 run in the
ensuing minutes to tie the game at 66 all. They even had a good chance to snatch the lead when the game was tied at 66, but Sasha Pavlovic missed a 24-foot three point jumper. This enabled the Sixers to lead them again by 72-68 at the end of third regulation.
The Celtics attacks let them down throughout the first three quarters and it let them down again in last six and a half minutes of play when they missed eight straight shots. The Sixers on the other hand took advantage and snapped
a tie of 81-81 to snatch the victory.
Jeff Green scored 18 points while Nenad Krstic made a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics. Ray Allen was restricted to just five points. Boston lost its second straight game, declining to a 46-17 record.
Toronto Raptors 108 - Indiana Pacers 98
The Toronto Raptors defeated the Indiana Pacers, 108-98 on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors were led by Leandro Barbosa who made the game-best and a season high 29 points.
The Raptors led the first part by 32-27, courtesy a 5-2 run in the last minute of the frame. The Raptors completely dominated the Pacers in the second section and outscored them 30-21 to end of half leading by 62-48. After the
first half, the Pacers rallied hard but failed to bring the deficit into single digit. The Raptors led by 83-73 at the culmination of the third quarter.
The Pacers offense however got going in the final stanza and pulled the deficit within six with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Unfortunately for Pacers, Jose Calderon decided to step up his game at that point. Calderon
scored four consecutive points in the final minutes as the Raptors held on to a victory.
With this loss the Pacers are now six down in a row. Granger led the Pacers attack and scored 25 points.
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