SIXERS NEWS

Andre Iguodala remained on the sidelines as the Sixers began a tough west coast trip in Oklahoma City with a matchup against Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Surprisingly, even without Iguodala, the Sixers were able to give the Thunder all they could handle.They struggled to score at times with Iggy in there but now A=all of the sudden they look like a team that score with anyone. In fact, 5 Sixers scored in double figures tonight. Elton Brand was probably the leading man with 17 and 9 rebounds, but Jrue Holiday was also great with 17 and 11 assists, Evan Turner looked good in his 2nd start with 15 and 8 rebounds, Andres Nocioni had an impressive 12 points while guarding Durant most of the night, and Jodie Meeks poured in 17 points off the bench, while drilling 4 of 5 from beyond.

Unfortunately while they performed well offensively, the Sixer's defense was less than impressive and it cost them tonight. They did out rebound OKC 37-34 and post 8 steals, but other than that the defense was poor. Durant and Russell Westbrooik were both practically unstoppable with 31 points apiece. Oklahoma also shot 49% from the field, 1% higher than the Sixers and they seemed to do a better job spreading the floor. As a result the Sixers struggled to contest shots all night long, and ended up with just 1 block for their struggles. In addition to the mediocre defense the Sixers all turned the ball over way too many times with 16 to the Thunder's 14. Put together turnovers with bad defense and you don't usually get a win. The Sixers came pretty close though.

Early in the contest the Sixers hung right in there with OKC, seemingly matching them shot for shot. They were safely within 4 as the 2nd quarter began. In the 2nd quarter, Sixers' foul trouble allowed OKC to extend their lead a bit as they went into the half up by 8. The 3rd quarter was more of the same as the Sixers found themselves down by 11, heading into the penultimate time period. There in the 4th quarter, as has happened many times this season, the Sixers took command and outscored OKC 29-24. They pulled within 3 of the Thunder a couple of times down the stretch, but the defense never held up enough for them to get closer. Ultimately their 4th quarter proved too little too late as the Thunder hung on to win 109-103. With the loss the Sixers drop to 2-6 overall. If it's any consolation though , the Sixers proved to me at least that they have improved greatly from last season and can pretty much play with anyone at this point. If only they could beat anyone too.