Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala star as the Philadelphia 76ers halt the Indiana Pacers 110-100
On Tuesday night at the Conseco Field house, forwards Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala combined powers as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers 110-100. It was the third straight win for the surging Sixers, who have now opened a 6-game with
their nearest rivals in the Eastern Conference standings.
Indiana with a 27-36 record, have lost its fourth in a row on the other hand and sixth in seven games.
Iguodala came off the bench and posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists while Young scored 18 points and nine rebounds to help 76ers strengthen their winning record. Philadelphia won seven out of eight games they played since February 16.
Iguodala who is averaging 14.8 points, 8.4 assists and 7.9 rebounds for the past eight games was so excited on this fine win and commented on his own and teammates’ performance,
“We're just starting to find ourselves; Guys are starting to get comfortable. I know where Elton's going to be, I know where Jodie's going to be, and I know where I'm going to be. We're all just feeling each other out. It's coming together”.
In a grueling encounter, the Sixers jumped out of the blocks with a 22-9 first quarter run. They then kept the Pacers in a double digit hole through most of the first half and stretched their advantage to as many as 21 points midway through the third quarter.
The 76ers shot 59 percent in the first half.
The Pacers led by the mercurial Tyler Hansbrough however sparked a vociferous come back at that point. By the time Hansbrough was finished the Pacers were within the striking distance at 93-100. The Sixers however hung tough in the face of the Pacers onslaught
and eventually managed to carve out a 110-100 win.
Jrue Holiday gathered 16 vital points with five rebounds and Jodie Meeks added 15 points for the 76ers, who shot 51 percent in total and pushed Indiana into 20 turnovers.
For the Pacers, Tyler Hansbrough posted a game high 26 points and complemented it with six rebounds and three steals. Roy Hibbert scored 13 points; A.J. Price gathered 12 points while rookie Paul George had a season high 10 rebounds.
Tyler’s performance was so exciting even Philadelphia’s coach Doug Collins was impressed by his brilliant ball play and said,
“Hansbrough was unbelievable, That guy is a really, really good player. He's really good”.
Indiana’s interim coach Frank Vogel who had sparked a resurgence in the Pacers’ rank after taking over was extremely disappointed by his team’s effort. The young coach who has seen his team go down in the last four games, said.
“Our guys have to do better. They understand it, I understand it. Not getting it done defensively and not moving the ball enough”.
To make the matters worse for the coach, the Pacers are not learning from their mistakes. Indiana has allowed at least 60 points in the first half and 110 points overall in all four games of its current losing streak.
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