SIXERS NEWS

Sixers 88 Hawks 75

It Was Over When.....

Samuel Dalembert, after sealing consecutive defensive stands with a block and a rebound, dunked to put the Sixers up 86-71 with just under 5:00 minutes to play. The Hawks had cut the lead to as little as 10, at 81-71 with 6:07 to play, but Dalembert's dunk put the nail in their coffin.

The Game Ball Goes To.....

Allen Iverson with 32 points and 6 assists, Andre Iguodala with 15 points and 3 steals, Chris Webber with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and finally Samuel Dalembert with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

The Stat Of the Game Is.....

75, as in just 75 points on the night for the Hawks, and 33.3 as in a mere 33.3 team shooting percentage for the Hawks on the night. Yes the Hawks, are not very good team to begin with, but even so, these numbers really show just how committed the Sixers are to improving their defense.

The Bottom Line Is.....

This is the way you wanted to open the season if you are the Sixers. You get a win, and you get it because of your team defense, instead of your offense. Just by watching tonight's game you can see how much easier is to win a game with your defense, rather than to just outscore the other guy as the Sixers tried to do all last season. The Only question remaining for this team, as far as I am concerned, is can they keep it up. It's one thing to play great defense for one night, but it's another to do it for an entire season. Yes this was an encouraging win for the Sixers, but they still have a little ways to go to prove that they belong at the top of the Eastern conference, or at the very the least, the top of the Atlantic division. Who knows, if they can keep this up, they might just go farther than anyone expected them to.