Philadelphia 76ers rally in the second half to beat New Orleans Hornets – NBA Recap Part 1
The Philadelphia 76ers trailed New Orleans Hornets by double-digits early in the game but ended up winning it after a strong showing in the second half. The Hornets fans watched helplessly from the sidelines as the game slipped away from their team at the New Orleans Arena to finish 101 – 93 in favour of the Sixers.
Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins was all praise for his side after the match and said he was delighted that the team had responded to his call for a fight back in such an excellent manner.
"I told our guys when we look back at a game like this, average teams lose (this game) and teams who want to be good, they find a way to win this game. I was real proud of our guys. We got off to a very sluggish start again, and we dug ourselves out of it. A terrific win."
Jrue Holiday was the big hero for Philadelphia on the night as he piled on the misery over the Hornets in the final quarter. In doing so he top scored with 23 points and also had 8 assists.
"I was hot like a pistol," he said. "I don't know. I just looked to be aggressive and luckily tonight it was falling for me in the fourth quarter." "We just tried to grind it out," Holiday added. "I guess the young guys really put in our work tonight. Maybe next time, it will be the old guys."
Evan Turner also had a terrific night for the Sixers, coming off the bench for a devastating 21 points while centre Spencer Hawes scored 17 and added 7 rebounds.
New Orleans had few big performers of their own on the night. Newcomer Eric Gordon showed off his skills in a 22 point performance. Forward Carl Landry had 21 points and 8 rebounds while point guard Jarrett Jack completed his double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Kaman also scored 10 and grabbed 8 boards coming off the bench.
The Hornets held the upper hand in the first quarter in front of an expectant home crowd. A 12 – 2 run late in the period gave them a double-digit lead which they took into the second quarter at 27 – 16.
New Orleans had a 7 – 2 spurt near the start of the second period as they looked to consolidate their position but Philadelphia weren’t in the mood to let them run away with the game just yet. They responded with a 6 – 0 burst to try and stem the tide. Similar incursions before the interval by the Sixers meant that they went into the half trailing by just 7 points, the score 47 – 40 in the Hornets favour.
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