| 07 February 2010
Third consecutive win @ Houston and counting (19-31, .380).
Reguardless of what effect they might have in the medium-long term, I must say I always enjoy watching my Sixers winning basketball games.
The 95-102 victory in Houston was no exception. In fact, I was particularly pleased to see them coming back strong in the second half, D' up, erase a 13 point Rockets lead and seal the win with a fantastic fourth quarter.
Give credit when credit is due: it was a total team effort and the coach did his part as well.
Eleven players used, eleven on the scoreboard, five in double figure, key plays coming from many different guys, in the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, facing another team with a winning record. Maybe I wasn't so off the mark when I said this is a deep team and that the shortened rotation wasn't a smart choice. Even when it seemed to work, I mean.
THREE ANSWERS
1) Yes, Andre Iguodala came up huge in the final quarter, after struggling for the first three (1/6 at a point). I like the fact that he didn't force things, he was clearly frustrated for Rocket's great defense but didn't force anything. Andre continued to play hard, rebound, distribute the ball: when he had an open look, he drained the game winning three (91-97, 1.38 to play).
Great, smart, unselfish game, played like a true leader this time.
2) Yes, I am officially a Brooks groupie. He's simply phenomenal. Seventeen points in the second quarter (four threes) to spark a 18-0 Houston run. Only Jrue Holiday managed to limit him, but in the final minutes, when he was clearly tired. Williams, Ivey & friends will remember his game for a while: after dropping 19 points on 4/5 from three at the half, Brook started the third quarter giving the Rockets their largest lead of the night, 60-47, with his fifth trey.
I thought it was the beginning of the end. Fortunately I was wrong, one more time. But Brooks.. boy, he's a player.
3) How could we get outplayed so badly in the first half? 57-47 Rockets, holding a 24-15 rebounding edge and shooting sixteen free throws vs our four (!). Their bench gave them a lot of energy (26 points), we didn't a great job of boxing them out, and our painted area was free territory for their drives. Of course playing Speights with Young in the frontcourt won't give you much chances to secure the boards, especially against a good offensive rebounding team like Houston (more after the jump).THREE QUESTIONS
1) Who thought that putting Jason Smith in was a good move? Honestly I didn't. But he even started the fourth and did pretty well. Zero defensive rebounds in 12 minutes aren't impressive, though, he allowed a couple of costly second chances. Anyway, he did contribute.
2) How about Ivey going 2/2 from downtown in the second quarter, Dalembert reaching 14 straight games with double digit rebounds, Brand blocking Landry in the final minute, Young scoring eight in the fourth, Lou Williams tying the game (79-79) and Carney giving us the lead (79-81)? I told you it was a t-e-a-m effort.
3) How did we build a 9-22 initial lead? We shot extremely well (8/12), controlled the boards, fed the low post. But Houston closed the quarter on a 13-4 run ,setting the stage for a 18-0 break in the second (42-30).
REASONS
Why we won the game
Stepped up in the fourth: Sixers shot 10/20 and had zero turnovers, while Rockets went 7/22 and had no other options when Brooks finally cooled off. We played really good team defense in the second half (38-55) and had many solutions offensively, contrary to our opponent.
Shooting so well from the line was clearly another key. Jrue in for defense down the stretch was a good - therefore unexpected - move by Jordan. It took him only 50 games, our patience was rewarded.
To be optimistic
Games like can be a huge confidence boost, really. I think nobody played a poor game last night, surely Lou Williams and Brand didn't shine but they did their part.
To be worried
Read the post below. The race for a playoffs spot is still a long one. Also, every won game is delaying Jordan's firing.
Ironically, we have a chance to make it five straight wins on Tuesday against the lowly Wolves, that will come off their own four game winning streak (!!).
