|
 Philadelphia (10-21) won its second consecutive road game after
losing its previous 13 away from home. The 76ers also won
consecutive games for the first time since starting the season 3-0.
After trailing by as many as nine points in the opening period,
Philadelphia used a 44-point second quarter that was sparked by its
bench to take a 68-56 lead into halftime. The 44 points were most
the 76ers scored in a quarter since 1996, and the 68 was their high
for a half this season.
The consecutive wins came over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers and
a Nuggets team that might best be described as lost, but the 76ers
didn't seem to mind.
"You hope things slowly come together," Philadelphia coach Brett
Brown said. "You hope you just stay the course and you don't blink.
We haven't done anything different."
Added Philadelphia forward Thaddeus Young: "Our second unit did a
really good job of taking advantage of the opportunity to play and
picking up the defensive intensity in the game. They worked (the
Nuggets') second unit real good."
Denver (14-17) lost its eighth game in a row, its longest losing
streak since the end of the 2002-03 season. The Nuggets let an
opponent top 40 points in a quarter for the first time this season.
After the game, first-year Nuggets coach Brian Shaw blasted his team
for what he said was a lack of effort. Asked if his players are
buying into his strategy, Shaw answered: "It certainly doesn't look
like that right now.
"In terms of my philosophy, playing hard is part of any coach's
philosophy, whether it's our team or any other team. Whether you buy
into what I'm running offensively or what I'm running defensively,
what should be universal is coming out and giving effort.
"Everybody is getting a paycheck, including myself. So when it's
time to go to work, you have to go to work, and you give it
everything you have and leave it on the floor, and I don't think
we're doing that, starting with me and sprinkling down to the
players." Said Nuggets center J.J. Hickson: "The good thing about this league
is you get 82 games. We have nowhere to go but up. We've hit rock
bottom. "We need to take pride in our defense on the court."
[to top of second column] |
Philadelphia closed the first half with a 13-2 run during which
forward Evan Turner scored eight points, prompting the Pepsi
Center crowd to boo the Nuggets as they left the floor.
On the night, the 76ers shot 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) on
3-pointers, including 7-for-14 during the second quarter. Denver
went 5-for-25 (20 percent) from long range.
Turner, who returned to action Sunday after missing the previous
game with right knee soreness, led the 76ers with 23 points. He
added six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Young continued his recent strong play with 17 points and 10
rebounds. He scored 25 or more in each of his previous four
games.
All five Nuggets starters scored in double figures. Hickson had
a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, and forward Wilson
Chandler added 16 points. Guard Ty Lawson contributed 15 points
and 11 assists.
Denver pulled within 106-97 on Chandler's 3-pointer with 3:10
remaining. However, Philadelphia scored the next five points,
ending with Young's driving basket with 1:48 to go, to put it
away.
NOTES: Philadelphia assistant coach Chad Iske spent the previous
14 seasons with the Nuggets. He was Denver's video coordinator
and an advanced scout before becoming an assistant coach in
2008. Iske is a graduate of Regis Jesuit High School in suburban
Aurora, Colo. ... G Randy Foye returned to Denver's starting
lineup after coming off the bench the previous three games, and
he scored 14 points. Foye started the season's first 27 games.
"He wasn't defending well, he wasn't rebounding, he wasn't
making plays for his teammates and he was struggling shooting
the ball, so it was a combination of all of those things that
landed him in the second unit," coach Brian Shaw said. Foye had
11 points and seven assists in Monday's loss to the Miami Heat,
but Shaw said leaving Foye in the fourth quarter of a 21-point
loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday enabled the guard to
find his rhythm again. ... Philadelphia G Tony Wroten and Denver
G Nate Robinson are cousins.
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76ers dump Nuggets for rare winning
streak
