SIXERS NEWS

After a tough loss to Orlando last night the Sixers shot on over to Miami to face the now Shaqless Heat. Still, Shaq or no Shag, the Sixers still needed every ounce of effort possible to hang on in this one. Offensively, four Sixers scored in double figures(Willie Green, Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams) with Miller and Iggy's 24 each leading the way. Defensively, Samuel Dalembert lead the way with 11 rebounds and a block, and Iguodala chipped in for 12 rebounds as the Sixers dominated the boards 50-33. However, with 23 turnovers the Sixers were sloppy with the ball and so Miami was able to hang around when they shouldn't have able to. In the first quarter of play, the Sixers jumped out a 5 point lead, with the score 24-19. In the second quarter Miami rallied back and by the half it was only a 2 point game, with the score 51-49. In the third quarter of play, Miami continued to rally and heading into 4th quarter, it was all tied at 73. In the 4th quarter the two teams were even all the way and by the end of regulation it was still all tied up at 91. Finally, in the overtime period ,Miami took the lead early, but the Sixers battled back, pulled ahead with just over a minute to play and hung on to win 101-96. So the Sixers improve to 25-32 overall, but remain 4th in the Atlantic division and 8th in the Eastern conference.