Sixers get crushed by Bulls, 103-92, to drop to 7-10 with Brand.
November 30, 2008
Derrick Rose seems unfazed by the rigorous NBA schedule.
In the final stop on a seven-game, 12-day road trip which began Nov. 18 in Los Angeles against the Lakers, the 20-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the draft still had plenty of energy.
Ben Gordon scored 21 points, Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from an early deficit for a 103-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Rose contributed 18 points and 10 assists and reached double figures in assists for the first time this season. Reserve Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Bulls (8-9), who won for only the third time in 10 games on the road.
All three of Chicago’s road wins came during this stretch.
“We got the ball in his hands in transition and he was finding guys,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said of Rose.
Rose entered the game averaging 5.8 assists, the best mark among rookies.
“I’m feeling good and taking it game by game,” said Rose, who played a team-high 40 minutes. “We’re moving the ball and finding the open person. We’re playing team basketball and that’s what it’s all about.”
Elton Brand had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young added 17 points for the reeling Sixers, who have lost four straight to fall to 7-10. Andre Miller had 15 points and 10 assists, and Willie Green chipped in with 12 points.
Philadelphia scored a season-low 78 points in a 24-point loss at Boston on Friday and has been held below the 100-point mark in seven consecutive games.
“We’ve got to step it up,” Brand said. “We’ve lost two games in a row where the other team has taken it to us.”
The Bulls held a 71-66 lead late in the third before running off 12 straight points to take an 83-66 advantage at the end of the quarter. Rose had six of the 12 points, including a high-flying, one-handed dunk with 32 seconds remaining.
“I think by us spreading out the basketball the way we did, we were really consistent with our effort in the zone and we got in transition,” Del Negro said.
After a 3-pointer by Hughes gave the Bulls a 92-73 lead with 7:21 left, the fans booed and a large throng of them began to vacate the arena. When the game ended, the boos careened down once again.
“We have to get ourselves back in the mind-set of defending,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.
The Sixers led by as many as 15 points in the first half before Chicago went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 41-40 on a basket by Luol Deng with 4:57 remaining.
Philadelphia finished the half strong and held what would wind up being a short-lived 55-52 lead.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NBA regular season game preview - Bulls vs Sixers.
November 30, 2008
Derrick Rose and Chicago have been struggling over the past week. Elton Brand had plenty of losing stretches with the Bulls, and he’s yet to land with a consistent winner.
The Bulls and prized rookie Rose, concluding what has been a tough seven-game road trip, get their first look at former No. 1 overall pick Brand in his new home when they face the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Chicago (7-9) went 33-49 last season, but got a fresh reason for hope when it won the draft lottery and selected Rose with the top pick in June.
Rose has been outstanding, averaging 18.4 points and 5.8 assists per game, but the Bulls continue to experience growing pains. Chicago has lost four of six since starting its trip on Nov. 18, and is 2-7 on the road this season.
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro believes some of the reason for the Bulls’ problems is his attempt to get Luol Deng back in the flow the past two games after missing three straight due to a hamstring injury.
“Part of the trip was trying to get Deng back in the rotation,” Del Negro said. “I need to do a better job to get him more involved, early in the games especially, so hopefully his health will be good the next couple of days. But we need everybody right now, so we’ll go from there.”
Deng is one of nine former top 10 draft picks on the Bulls’ roster, but none is more celebrated than Rose, who grew up in Chicago. The point guard has shown immense talent in his first 16 games, but is coming off one of his worst efforts.
Rose managed one basket in the second half of a 98-88 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday night, finishing with 10 points. He was outscored 19-10 by Spurs rookie guard George Hill, the 26th pick in the draft.
Rose is the Bulls’ first No. 1 overall pick since Brand in 1999. The veteran big man was outstanding in two years with Chicago, but the Bulls won a combined 32 games during that span and Brand was traded in June 2001 to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he made the playoffs once in seven seasons.
Now Brand is trying to turn Philadelphia (7-9) into a winner after signing as a free agent this past offseason, but the 76ers have lost three straight and hardly look like contenders.
Brand had 18 points and eight rebounds against Boston on Friday night as Philadelphia lost 102-78. It was the lowest-scoring game of the season for the 76ers, whose previous low was 80 points in a loss to Utah on Nov. 11.
“We’ve been in this situation before, having bad losses,” said Philadelphia guard Andre Iguodala, who was limited to nine points. “When you have a loss like that, you can’t pinpoint one person or one thing. You have to look at yourself as one whole group effort. We have to play better.”
The 76ers have been held under 100 points in their last six games.
Philadelphia averaged 106.0 points per game against Chicago last season, winning three of four meetings.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Sixers routed by Celtics, 102-78, in Boston to drop to 7-9 in 2008.
November 30, 2008
Ray Allen had a stretch of 11 straight points in the third quarter Friday. Rajon Rondo had a hand in all of them.
Allen scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lead the Boston Celtics to their seventh straight victory, 102-78 over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Allen was 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. In the past three games, he is 13-for-19 from behind the arc.
“I thought the difference in us the last four games was (when) they scored, we zipped it up the floor and Ray made a wide-open 3,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re setting better picks for him. We realize that to get Ray shots we have to get him open and I think our guys have done a better job.”
Allen had three baskets in a row from 3-point land during his 11-point surge as the Celtics (15-2) extended an 18-point halftime lead to 73-47. Rondo assisted on all four baskets.
“When the game was over, I told him, ‘When you play like that, we’re a beast to contend with,”‘ Allen said. “I told him, ‘I feed off you.”‘
Rondo had 12 assists, including one on the last basket of the third quarter, a perfectly executed alley-oop to Garnett for a dunk.
Tony Allen and Leon Powe each scored 10 points for the Celtics. Paul Pierce was limited to six points on 1-for-6 shooting.
It was another poor offensive night for the 76ers (7-9), who had their lowest-scoring game and first half of the season. Their previous low was 80 points in loss to Utah on Nov. 11.
“They showed us why they were world champions last year,” 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “Their defense stifled us.”
They scored a season-low 12 points in the second quarter, as the Celtics opened a 46-28 lead. Boston opened the quarter with a 9-0 run, capped by a three-point play by Powe, to take a 33-16 lead.
Philadelphia was held scoreless until Reggie Evans converted a free throw almost four minutes in, but did not make its first shot from the field until Louis Williams’ layup made it 33-19 at the 6:39 mark.
The 76ers have lost three in a row after winning five of six. The only starter to shoot better than 50 percent in the first half was Elton Brand, who was 5-for-9 for 12 points. The rest of the starting five was 6-for-20 as the 76ers were held to 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
“We’ve been in this situation before, having bad losses,” said Andre Iguodala, who was limited to nine points. “When you have a loss like that, you can’t pinpoint one person or one thing. You have to look at yourself as one whole group effort. We have to play better.”
Brand scored 18 points and Williams added 15 points. Andre Miller and Marreese Speights each had 12 points. Speights was ejected with 43 seconds remaining after committing a flagrant foul on Brian Scalabrine.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NBA regular season game preview - Sixers vs Celtics.
November 28, 2008
The Boston Celtics’ “Big Three” looks like it might need to make room for a fourth. Although the season is young, the Celtics also look intent on making room for an 18th championship banner in the rafters of TD Banknorth Garden.
Red-hot point guard Rajon Rondo and the surging Celtics go for their season-best seventh straight win Friday night when they host the Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston (14-2) owns an identical record to what it had at this point in 2007-08, when it finished 66-16 en route to its record 17th NBA championship. The current Celtics have sandwiched a pair of six-game winning streaks around a Nov. 14 loss to Denver. They’ve also posted their highest point totals of the season in their last two games, following a 118-103 victory at Toronto on Sunday with a 119-111 win over Golden State at home Wednesday night.
The veteran “Big Three” of Ray Allen (25 points), Kevin Garnett (21) and Paul Pierce (21) all made major contributions against the Warriors, but the biggest factor may have been the continued emergence of Rondo. The 22-year-old point guard sparked the offense with a season-high 22 points and seven assists, and added eight rebounds while helping the Celtics rally from a 14-point second-half deficit.
“I think when he’s on like he’s on tonight, we’re unbeatable,” Pierce said of Rondo. “With me, Kevin (Garnett) and Ray (Allen) on a night in, night out basis, Rajon is now starting to develop that consistency as a player.”
Since turning in consecutive two-point efforts in the middle of this month, Rondo has taken his game to a new level. He’s averaging 16.6 points and 6.2 assists in Boston’s last five wins while shooting 55.7 percent (34-for-61) from the field. He didn’t commit a single turnover in Wednesday’s victory.
“We know the kid has a lot of toughness in him,” Garnett said. “He plays very, very hard. Like Paul said, we rode him the whole second half. He started it and we just fed off it.”
While the Celtics are surging, the 76ers (7-8) have been inconsistent, without a winning or losing streak of longer than three games. They’d won five of six through Sunday, but fell 93-84 at Charlotte on Monday and lost 96-94 at home to Orlando on Wednesday.
Elton Brand scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half against the Magic as Philadelphia came back from an early 12-point deficit, but the rally came up short as Rashard Lewis made a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left.
“That was a tough loss for us, going down the stretch like that,” 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “We had made plays up to that point. The way we played tonight was the way we need to play night in and night out.”
Philadelphia’s offense has been anemic of late, failing to score more than 96 points in any of the last five games and shooting 41.5 percent from the field in the last four. The Sixers have scored fewer than 90 points eight times in 15 games, going 2-6 in those contests.
Boston took three of four games in last season’s series, but Philadelphia won the most recent matchup 95-90 at TD Banknorth Garden on March 24, when Andre Iguodala had 28 points to lead all scorers.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Sixers lose to Magic at home to drop to 7-8 in 2008 season.
November 27, 2008
The Orlando Magic shot poorly in the second half until it mattered.
Rashard Lewis scored 19 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left to lead Orlando to a 96-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Prior to Lewis’ shot, the Magic were 11-for-34 (32 percent) from the field after halftime.
“I didn’t like the way we were playing in the second half,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We had big turnovers and missed a ton of open shots at one stretch.”
But Van Gundy was smiling at the end, thanks to Lewis.
On the winning play, Lewis inbounded to Hedo Turkoglu, who took several dribbles down the lane before passing to Lewis on the left wing. Lewis drained the shot and the 76ers, without any timeouts left, could manage only Andre Miller’s 40-footer at the buzzer that came up short.
“It was going to be a screen for Turk,” Lewis said. “My man stayed with me for a while and then the defense kind of collapsed and Turk found me.”
Said Van Gundy: “It was a set play to a point. We wanted to get the ball in Lewis’ hands and he made a play. I’m not taking credit for that. The credit goes to Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.”
Dwight Howard had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic (11-4), who nearly surrendered a 12-point, first-half lead. Tony Battie had a season-high 20 points and Turkoglu added 12 for Orlando, which won for the seventh time in eight games.
Elton Brand scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half for Philadelphia (7-8), which lost its second straight. Andre Iguodala added 17 points, while Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young had 13 apiece.
“We just have to learn how to stay stern, stick to the game plan and not leave those shooters,” Brand said. “We played well enough to win the game and they hit a big shot.”
Turkoglu gave the Magic a 93-92 lead with 35 seconds left with two free throws. Iguodala answered with a pair from the line to give Philadelphia a 94-93 advantage with 14 seconds left, setting up Orlando’s final possession.
“That was a tough loss for us, going down the stretch like that,” 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “We had made plays up to that point. The way we played tonight was the way we need to play night in and night out.”
Marreese Speights hit a 38-footer as time expired to end the third quarter for his first career 3-pointer to give Philadelphia its first lead, 72-71. Speights scored on a fast-break layup to open the fourth period before hitting a 15-footer that gave Philadelphia its largest lead, 80-74, with 8:31 left.
The Sixers held the lead for most of the final quarter, but could never gain a margin larger than six despite several chances to put away the cold-shooting Magic.
“Sometimes you get lucky and we got lucky tonight,” Lewis said. “It was most definitely a big win for us.”
Orlando shot 20-for-33 (61 percent) in the first half to take a 55-45 lead at the break. But the Magic missed 13 of 19 shots in the third quarter and the 76ers took advantage, outscoring Orlando 27-16 in the period to go up by one.
Brand scored 11 points in the quarter, including nine during an 18-8 Philadelphia run to open the second half that trimmed Orlando’s lead to 61-59 with 5:32 left in the quarter. The Magic missed nine of 12 shots during the 76ers’ spurt.
Battie, who entered Wednesday averaging just 3.9 points, scored 16 points in the first half by making all seven of his field goals and both of his free-throw attempts.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Sixers lay an egg in Charlotte as they lose 93-84 to the Bobcats.
November 25, 2008
It didn’t take long for rookie D.J. Augustin to unseat Raymond Felton as Charlotte’s point guard. Only Felton didn’t lose his starting job, leaving a tiny backcourt that — at least for a night — got the Bobcats out of their offensive funk.
Augustin and Felton, each about six-feet tall, combined for 48 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds in their third game starting together, and the Bobcats beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-84 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
Coach Larry Brown began tinkering with the lineup after shooting guard Jason Richardson was sidelined after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery about two weeks ago. Brown decided last Friday to start the undersized pair, and Augustin scored 26 points in a loss to Atlanta.
They started again in a loss to Milwaukee a day later, and on Monday the duo that led the NBA’s lowest-scoring team to pile up 21 assists on 34 field goals.
“I kind of figured it was going to happen at some point because we played so well together,” said Felton, who has bounced from both guard spots since being the fifth pick in the 2005 draft. “Coach was doing it a little bit even before. So with J-Rich being out, it wasn’t a surprise. I was kind of like, ‘OK, let’s go, let’s make this happen.”‘
They did. Augustin scored 25 points and added a career-high 11 assists. Felton had 23 points and seven rebounds. They combined to shoot 16 for 22 with only six turnovers.
“Ray’s a tough player. He’s not going to let anybody back him down,” said Augustin, who left Texas after his sophomore season. “I’m not going to let anybody back me down. So we just play hard and play with heart. Size doesn’t matter.”
Apparently not to the Sixers, who somehow couldn’t take advantage of a seemingly big advantage up front.
Elton Brand had 18 points, but made only 6 of 13 shots and fouled out with less than a minute left. He was nowhere near as dominant as he was a night earlier in a win over Golden State that got the Sixers to .500 for the first time. Thaddeus Young was held to six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Andre Iguodala added 17 points for the Sixers, who shot 40 percent and had their two-game winning streak snapped.
“We expected to better than that,” Brand said. “We will be better than that. It’s a work in progress.”
The Bobcats, who came in as the NBA’s lowest-scoring team at 86.7 points per game, shot 55 percent and overcame 21 turnovers despite getting little from their frontcourt.
“They deserved to win this ballgame,” Brand said. “They outhustled us on a few loose balls and they knocked down timely shots.”
Augustin was one of two rookies to start for Charlotte, joining fellow first-round pick Alexis Ajinca, symbolizing Brown’s lack of options up front.
The skinny 7-footer, who replaced the out-of-shape Sean May at power forward, committed two fouls in the first three minutes. He was replaced by the aging Nazr Mohammed, then Ryan Hollins. With Emeka Okafor continuing to struggle at center, the foursome combined to shoot 1-for-9 in the first half.
It didn’t prompt Brown to put in May, who didn’t get off the bench for a second straight game. He was seen running on the team’s practice court more than two hours before tipoff as he struggles to get fit following knee surgery last year.
Okafor finished with six turnovers, too. So Charlotte depended on its guards. Augustin scored 13 points in the third quarter as Charlotte took the lead for good. Felton had 12 points in the first half, helping the Bobcats rally from a seven-point deficit to tie it at halftime.
“It’s fun when you feel like your team’s trying hard and accomplishing things,” said the well-traveled Brown, after the fourth game of 25 this season against teams he used to coach.
This time, Brown finally got his first win, thanks to his undersized duo.
“You’ve got to adjust your game,” Felton said. “I’m a point guard, so even when I’m at the 2, I can use my point guard skills. I can penetrate, set up the post and make things happen.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Wizards fire Eddie Jordan after 1-10 start to 2008 season.
November 24, 2008
Eddie Jordan was fired as coach of the Washington Wizards on Monday after opening the season 1-10 without injured starters Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood.
“That’s an unacceptable record, obviously,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said at a news conference to introduce director of player development Ed Tapscott as interim coach. “We had to do something. The way we’re losing games was unacceptable.”
The Wizards’ record matches the worst start in franchise history; the only other time the team was 1-10 was in 1966, when it was called the Baltimore Bullets. The final straw for Jordan appears to have been a 122-117 loss Saturday night to the undermanned New York Knicks, who had only seven players available.
“We lost games we were supposed to win — especially that one,” second-year guard Nick Young said.
Tapscott ran his first practice as an NBA head coach Monday morning and vowed to place a strong emphasis on defense — something Jordan repeatedly promised, too. Washington is allowing 103.5 points per game, which ranks 27th in the 30-team league.
“We’ve been a little sieve-like, letting people go down the lane,” Tapscott said. “Our philosophy will be: ‘Protect the rim and the lane.’”
He will coach the team for the rest of this season. Grunfeld said he’ll “evaluate everything” in the offseason.
While never before a head coach in the pros, Tapscott has plenty of front-office experience, including as president and chief operating officer of the Charlotte Bobcats and, before that, as vice president of player personnel and basketball operations for the Knicks in the 1990s. He coached at American University in the 1980s.
“We all respect him,” co-captain Antawn Jamison said. “We know he has a great basketball IQ.”
Associate head coach Mike O’Koren also was fired Monday.
“It just felt like we were going in the wrong direction,” Grunfeld said. “If felt a little stale.”
Jordan was in his sixth season with the Wizards and led the team to the playoffs each of the past four — the longest postseason streak for a Washington coach since Dick Motta did it from 1976-80. Under Jordan, though, the team made it past the first round only once.
In September, shortly before the start of training camp, the Wizards picked up a one-year option to keep Jordan under contract through the 2009-10 season. That, along with the injury-depleted roster, were reasons Jordan’s job was thought to be safe — and why Monday’s move came as something of a shock, despite the team’s record.
“It’s surprising. I don’t think any of the players saw it coming,” Haywood said.
Jordan leaves as the Eastern Conference’s longest-tenured coach and No. 3 in the NBA behind Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
“This was an extremely difficult decision because I’m personally very fond of Eddie,” Wizards owner Abe Pollin said in a statement released by the team. “He helped bring our franchise back to the playoffs. … I will forever be grateful for his dedication and hard work. However, sometimes circumstances force changes. Our team is not performing to my expectations and I felt it was time to make a change.”
Jordan came into this season with a 196-214 mark with the Wizards, but that included a rebuilding 25-57 record in his first season. Since then — with a fast-paced offense built around Arenas and also featuring All-Star forwards Jamison and Caron Butler — Jordan helped turn the Wizards around.
He was the East’s coach at the 2007 All-Star Game.
But the Wizards have struggled to even be competitive at times this season, with Arenas recovering from his third operation on his left knee in 1½ years, and with Haywood out for perhaps the entire season after surgery on his shooting wrist.
Washington opened 0-5, then beat the Jazz at home to avoid the first 0-6 start in franchise history. That victory, though, was followed by another five-game losing streak.
The only NBA team with a worse record is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 1-13 and fired coach P.J. Carlesimo over the weekend.
Tapscott’s debut will come Tuesday night, when Washington hosts the Golden State Warriors.
He joined the Wizards’ front office in August 2007 after spending a year as an analyst for the team’s television broadcasts. He was fired in 2006 by the Bobcats.
Tapscott was an assistant to current Maryland coach Gary Williams at American University in the 1970s and became head coach in 1982. In eight seasons at AU, Tapscott finished with 119 victories.
“This is not the end of the season. This is not the end of the world,” Jamison said. “We’ve got to move forward.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Sixers move above .500 for first time in 2008 with win over Warriors.
November 23, 2008
Elton Brand never lost confidence in his shooting touch.
Brand had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 15 points and the Philadelphia 76ers moved above .500 for the first time this season with an 89-81 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
Brand entered the game shooting 43 percent from the field but was 10-of-22 from the field and registered his seventh double-double in arguably the best performance this season for the 76ers’ marquee free agent. Brand left the Los Angeles Clippers and for a five-year, $80 million contract with Philadelphia on July 9.
“The guys found me in rhythm,” said Brand, who hit the game-winning shot against his former team in Friday’s 89-88 victory over the Clippers. “It’s the same shots I’ve been shooting all along and they were falling early.”
Thaddeus Young contributed 12 points and Samuel Dalembert had 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 7-6 and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Warriors.
“It was one of his better games,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said of Dalembert. “His 16 rebounds were big, particularly in the early going. We played the big lineup and it played to our advantage.”
Kelenna Azubuike scored 16, and C.J. Watson and Stephen Jackson had 12 apiece for Golden State, which dropped its second in a row. Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright had 10 apiece.
“I’m not discouraged,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “We had some mistakes at the start of the game that cost us.”
The high-flying Warriors were held well below the NBA-leading 105.4 points they were averaging before the game.
“It’s all part of getting better and learning,” Wright said. “It’s no excuse, but we’re not going to get down on ourselves.”
The Sixers once held a 22-point advantage before Golden State began to chip away. Philadelphia had a 72-62 lead after the third quarter.
Golden State scored 14 of the first 18 points in the fourth and tied the game at 76 on a 3-pointer by Anthony Morrow with 6:32 left.
Leading 84-81, Andre Miller hit a 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining for a six-point lead. It was only Miller’s third 3-pointer of the season and his second in two games.
“Nothing Andre Miller does ever surprises me,” Brand said. “He’s a heck of a player and he’s a winner.”
Miller added a pair of free throws for an 89-81 advantage.
“They fought back and got back into it, but we were able to make some defensive plays and hit some shots,” Miller said.
After a 14-2 run, including four consecutive 3-pointers — two by Young and two by Iguodala — the Sixers pulled ahead 55-35 with 2:19 left in the first half. Philadelphia led 57-39 at halftime.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Elton Brand hits game winner in Sixers win against Clippers.
November 21, 2008
Elton Brand went through the usual pregame routine a former All-Star makes the first time he plays his old team.
There was the hug for Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, the greetings with the assistants and trash talking with his former teammates. He ended the reunion with something to remember: Brand beat his former team with his biggest basket yet for his new one.
Brand hit a 15-footer with 57 seconds left and finished with 17 points in his first game against Los Angeles, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-88 victory over the short-handed Clippers on Friday night.
“It’s one of those nights that I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It was a big deal, there was a lot of anticipation. We got the victory so it’s time to move on.”
The Clippers lost shortly after acquiring forward Zach Randolph and guard Mardy Collins from the New York Knicks for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas.
Los Angeles built off a strong end to the third and was inching toward a double-digit lead until it all unraveled over the final 2:50. Andre Iguodala converted a three-point play and Andre Miller hit a 3-pointer to get the Sixers within one.
Then Brand, who bolted the Clippers and signed a free-agent deal with the Sixers, nailed the winner.
“I’ve seen him make that shot a few times,” said Dunleavy.
Brand played his first game against the Clippers since signing a five-year deal worth around $80 million in July. Brand grabbed a franchise-record 4,710 rebounds and scored 9,336 points for Los Angeles from 2001-08 and became the face of the long-suffering franchise.
But the two-time All-Star forward left on sour terms once Dunleavy said Brand backed out of a verbal agreement to return to the Clippers and then never offered an explanation why.
“If he called me up and said, ‘Coach, I know I told you I was coming back, but I think a situation came up that’s better for my family, I’m going to move on,’ then, hey, sorry to hear it, but I wish you the best and good luck,” Dunleavy said before the game.
Brand shook Dunleavy’s hand and gave his former coach a quick embrace before the game.
“There’s no hard feelings,” Brand said. “He’s a good guy.”
Brand struggled most of the game from the floor, missing a couple of open looks late in the fourth that could have sliced Philadelphia’s deficit.
“They know where I like the ball, they know my moves,” Brand said. “Some of those coaches taught me those moves.”
Then he made up for it in a big way.
“When the ball is in his hands, we want him to score,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.
Thaddeus Young scored 17 points and Iguodala had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers.
Al Thornton scored 22 points for the Clippers, Baron Davis had 18 and Chris Kaman added 17.
Davis signed with the Clippers with the idea that he would play with Brand. Once Brand left for Philly, their relationship fizzled and Davis said this week he had nothing to say about Brand.
Davis sparked the Clippers in the third when he sank a 3, then blocked Iguodala’s shot on the other end. The Clippers got the ball back and Eric Gordon made two free throws to help the Clippers take a 72-68 lead into the fourth.
The Sixers were sloppy in the fourth and the Clippers pounced. Thornton scored off a Sixers turnover at midcourt and Kaman followed with a three-point play to open an 83-75 lead.
Davis nailed a turnaround jumper for an 88-84 lead with 1:45 lead, but that was it for the Clippers.
The Clippers dropped to 2-10, one huge reason why Dunleavy said it was time to shake up the roster before the season slipped away.
Randolph, the 19th overall pick in the 2001 draft, led the Knicks with 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. He has career averages of 16.4 points and 8.2 rebounds over seven seasons and fills the void in the post the Clippers have missed since Brand left.
“We’re 2-10, so I hope it helps,” Kaman said.
The Sixers hope this win can get their season going. They have played nothing at all like the fast-breaking, easy-bucket team that used a strong second half last season to make the playoffs. They lost at two-win Minnesota on Wednesday and have largely abandoned their running game to placate Brand with mixed results. Brand’s scoring is well off his career mark and the starting five really hasn’t clicked.
“We need to come in and play loose,” said guard Willie Green. “We are coming in a little too stagnant and hesitant.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NBA regular season game preview - Clippers vs Sixers.
November 21, 2008
When the Los Angeles Clippers signed Baron Davis this summer, they didn’t figure they’d be sputtering offensively during another dismal start for the long-struggling franchise.
Then again, they also didn’t expect Elton Brand would be suiting up for their opponent on Friday.
That’s when Brand will face his former club for the first time since his controversial split from the Clippers, as his Philadelphia 76ers look to bounce back at home after their three-game winning streak was snapped their last time out.
After averaging 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in seven seasons with Los Angeles, Brand opted out of the final year of his contract this summer. The Clippers still hoped and expected to re-sign the former No. 1 overall pick, especially after they bolstered their roster when Davis signed a five-year, $65 million deal.
“I talked to him, would tell him, ‘Hey, this is the best place for you, we can do great things.’ But obviously he chose otherwise,” Davis said in July. “I can’t be mad at him for that. I wish Elton Brand the best. He’s a great guy, always going to a great player and a friend of mine. He made a decision for the future of his family.”
In interviews, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said that Brand had made a verbal agreement to return to Los Angeles if the team acquired Davis, but he signed a five-year deal worth nearly $80 million with Philadelphia on July 9.
“We had a great relationship the whole time he was here,” Dunleavy said. “It’s surprising, some things you can’t figure out. I don’t know why he left. All the e-mails we exchanged were positive. All of a sudden, it just fell off a cliff.”
Brand said he never made any commitment to Los Angeles.
“My intention was to try and work something out with the Clippers,” he said.
Instead, he’s trying to lead a revival for the Sixers (5-6), although it has not gone according to plan in the early going. With Brand and Andre Iguodala struggling offensively, Philadelphia failed to score 90 points in each of its losses during a 2-5 start.
The Sixers rebounded with three straight wins against Toronto, Indiana and Oklahoma City last week, but suffered a 102-96 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday, ending the Timberwolves’ eight-game skid.
Brand had 19 points and 13 rebounds while Andre Miller led the way with 20 points and six assists, but the Sixers’ late comeback attempt fell short as they allowed Minnesota to shoot a season-high 51.4 percent from the field.
“We’re doing all right. We have our ups and downs and are learning a lot about each other,” Brand said. “There are no gimmes. … You can’t get relaxed, and I think we did that.”
Brand likely won’t be relaxed against the lowly Clippers (2-9), even though Dunleavy’s club is among the NBA’s worst in points per game (90.9) and field goal percentage (41.8).
The former Duke star led Los Angeles to the second round of the playoffs in 2006 - the first time the franchise had won a playoff series in 30 years - but he missed nearly all of last season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon as the Clippers went 23-59.
Looking to fill voids after Brand and Corey Maggette left via free agency, Los Angeles is off to another slow start. Davis is shooting a career-low 36.1 percent and averaging 15.5 points, his fewest in eight years.
Still, the Clippers turned in arguably their best performance in their last game, a 108-88 win at Oklahoma City on Wednesday. All five starters scored in double figures, including 25 points and 14 rebounds by Chris Kaman and 23 points by Cuttino Mobley.
“Baron said before the game, ‘You’ve got to get focused.’ He told the whole team that,” Mobley said.
If the Clippers were focused for either of their games against Philadelphia last season, it didn’t show. Despite entering the season with a three-game winning streak against the Sixers, Los Angeles scored 80 points in each of its two lopsided losses.
Hookscenter.com wire report.