Philadelphia 76ers trounced Portland Trail Blazers 88-79
Elton Brand played one of his best games of the season, and scored 18 points to help the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 88-79 at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. 13,556 cheerful basketball fans witnessed the victory of the home team.
Jrue Holiday and Andres Nocioni added 11 points each for the 76ers.
Wesley Matthews posted a game-high 26 points for Portland in the loss. LaMarcus Aldridge added 20, grasped by 14 rebounds and Brandon Roy contributed 10 points.
First Quarter
Both teams scored 29 points each in the first quarter.
Brand of Philadelphia leads all scorers with 10 points, while Holiday added 8, and led by 3-pointer with 03:04 to go.
Second Quarter
Both teams started ice cold, but Philadelphia managed to make it to the free throw line early, to help build a lead.
The teams played evenly through the first two quarters, with Philadelphia slowly began to build their lead, taking a 47-46 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Blazers built an eight-point lead thanks to a 10-1 run to start the third quarter, their biggest advantage of the game.
The Blazers did not play well offensively in the second quarter, but once again, they found a way to build up a 2-point lead, scoring 22 points in the third quarter, all while holding Philadelphia to 19.
Fourth Quarter
Despite the third quarter explosion, Philadelphia controlled every aspect of this one, limiting turnovers, making shots in the fourth quarter, and playing tenacious defense.
Many of the points came from layups. Philadelphia adjusted and forced the Trail Blazers into lower percentage shots.
Philadelphia trailed 72-70 midway through the fourth, before going on a 15-4 run that put the game away with 1:50 left.
Unsung Players
Craig Brackins of Philadelphia was inactive in the game. The rookie had appeared in only one game this season, scoring six points in 10 minutes at Toronto on November 24, 2010.
Standing at 6ft 8”, Jason Kapono of the 76ers returned after missing four games due to personal reasons.
Blazer’s Joel Przybilla missed his second consecutive game as he is suffering a bout of the flu and Center Greg Oden is lost for the season due to knee surgery.
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