LDN - Sports

76ers end 23-game road skid, defeat Pelicans

[December 09, 2016] NEW ORLEANS -- While the Philadelphia 76ers breathed a sigh of relief over snapping their 23-game road losing streak Thursday night with a 99-88 victory over the beleaguered New Orleans Pelicans, New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry understands the score.

Gentry and general manager Dell Demps may not yet be dead men walking, but the Pelicans' listless performance against the worst team in the NBA doesn't do much to ensure his or Demps' job security.

"I really don't give a (bleep) about my job status," Gentry said after the 7-16 Pelicans, losers of four straight, scored 31 second-half points on 30 percent shooting to fall to a team that had not won on the road since beating Orlando 96-87 on Jan. 16, 2016. "I'm going to work hard, I'm going to coach till the day they tell me I'm not the coach any more. It doesn't matter. I don't ever worry about that. That's not anything that I spend five seconds worrying about.

"My worry is how do I get the guys in the locker room to play at the level that I want them to. That's where all my effort goes. It doesn't go anywhere else."

The Pelicans locker room was morgue-like. Anthony Davis, who scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds but supported by only one other player in double figures (guard Langston Galloway with 19), had little to say. His frustration was evident in what he didn't say.

Asked if this was the low point of his four-year career in New Orleans, Davis said, "Yep."

Asked to explain the loss, Davis added: "We didn't play no defense. ... We're just not playing right. We need to figure out something. We're going out on the road against two tough teams (the LA Clippers and the Phoenix Suns). Whatever we need to do, we need to figure it out. ... "

The Sixers (5-18) were down 57-52 at halftime, but held the Pelicans to 20 percent shooting in the third quarter -- the Pelicans missed 20 of 25 shots -- to take a 71-69 lead into the fourth.

It would have been even worse for New Orleans, but Davis hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to cut the deficit to two, giving the Pelicans 12 points in the third quarter.

Then Dario Saric scored eight consecutive points in a decisive fourth-quarter surge as the Sixers pulled away. Ersan Ilyasova had a team-high 23 points, and Philadelphia placed four others in double figures: guard Sergio Rodriguez had 16, Joel Embiid and Nik Stauskas 14 each and Saric 13.

"I think our defense was physical," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "We've been playing (6-foot-10) Dario at the three, so you roll out those bigs with (6-10) Ersan and (6-9 Robert) Covington at the two, that's a big team. Defensively, we've been trending well."

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Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca (42) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The 76ers defeated the Pelicans 99-88. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The 76ers had 27 assists -- nine more than New Orleans. Stauskas took advantage by making 3 of 5 from behind the arc.

"We are willing to share the ball," said Ilyasova, who also had four assists and eight rebounds. "We are third or fourth in the assists in the whole league. That says a lot about us. Some things we have to figure out, but we have a good team. We can be real good."

Philadelphia dared anyone but Davis to shoot, and the Pelicans finished 33 of 84 from the field. Davis was asked what it might take for the Pelicans to turn things around.

"Play harder," he said.

Asked what he thought of the job Gentry was doing, Davis said, "He's doing fine."

Perhaps Gentry is, when compared to the Pelicans' shooting. Gentry said it is impossible for Davis to go one-on-five.

"We've got to be able to make some shots," Gentry said. "We've got to be able to take the pressure off Anthony some kind of way, and the only way we can do that is we have to have guys make shots."

NOTES: Tired of watching C Omer Asik failing to handle the ball in the paint, New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry gave Alexis Ajinca the start against the 76ers. "We just haven't been very good offensively, so we'll see if adding him to the lineup will give us a little bit of a punch," Gentry said. "The one thing he can do is stretch the floor a little bit, create space for AD (Anthony Davis)." ... Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday and SG E'Twaun Moore missed the game with toe injuries. ... Two Sixers did not travel to New Orleans: G Jerryd Bayless (left wrist) and C Jahlil Okafor (gastroenteritis). ... F Robert Covington, who missed three games with a sprained right knee, returned and played 31 minutes. He flew to New Orleans with C Nerlens Noel, who is close to returning from a sore left knee.

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