SIXERS NEWS

A little over a week ago the Sixers traveled to Washington to face the Wizards and were embarrassed 116-101. Tonight at home in the wachovia center, the Sixers exacted revenge. While the last game was a shootout, tonight's game was a sloppy defensive stalemate. Despite poor shooting(under 40% from the field, 0-14 from beyond, and only 73% from the free throw line) the Sixers still managed to post 4 scorers in double digits(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Reggie Evans, Samuel Dalembert). with Samuel Dalembert leading the way with 19. Defensively, Dalembert was the star again with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Andre Iguodala also contributed 12 rebounds and 2 blocks as the Sixers outrebounded the Wizards 42-40. Perhaps more importantly though, the Sixers won the turnover battle with just 8 to the Wizards 18, just enough of a factor to help the Sixers pull out a win. Early on the Sixers led by as much as 11, but had to settle for a 5 point lead after the 1st quarter(25-20). Washington stormed back to take a 1 point lead at the half(43-42). The Sixers rallied back in the 3rd quarter to forge a 68-68 tie through 3 quarters. The 4th quarter was a tight back and forth tussle throughout. The Sixers led 85-81 with 45 seconds to play. Then the Wizard's Caron Butler nailed a 3 pointer to cut the lead to 85-84. From there, Sixers milked the clock down to 12 seconds, but Andre Iguodala missed a layup and the Wizards had a final possession to steal victory. Fortunately rookie Nick young jacked up a 3 pointer with 1 second to play and missed it, to give the Sixers an 85-84 win. So the Sixers improve to 5-10 overall, but remain tied for last place in the Atlantic division.