Jan

21

Bad Free Throw Shooting Dooms 76ers, Lose to Pacers 110-103

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main 

???????????????????Indiana Pacers guard Kareem Rush, left, looks for an opening while Philadelphia 76ers guard Andre Miller guards during the first quarter of their game, played Monday night. Rush scored 25 points, as Indiana beat Philadelphia 110-103.?

Indiana Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien must lead a charmed life.? After all, how many people do you know get hired by an NBA team, coach them to the playoffs, only to get fired by this same team, sit at home for 2 years and collect $8 million, then get hired again by another NBA team - only to beat their previous team?? All of this happened to O’Brien; the team in question was the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2004-05.? He coached them for one season, leading them to the playoffs only to get fired, then getting rehired 2 years later by the Pacers.

That’s not to say that O’Brien had revenge on his mind Monday when Indiana faced Philadelphia.? The 76ers were able to shoot themselves in the foot by their own accord, as a combination of poor free-throw shooting and above-average shooting by the Pacers allowed Indiana to post a win over Philadelphia 110-103 at Philadelphia.

Hot shooting by the Pacers in the first quarter would enable them to take a 32-19 lead in the first quarter; however, the 76ers would use a 16-0 run to pull ahead 37-35 in the second quarter.? Troy Murphy would hit a 3-pointer to help Indiana regain the lead; Kareem Rush and Mike Dunleavy would hit treys on consecutive possessions at the end of the half, enabling the Pacers to take a 63-49 lead into halftime.

Philadelphia in the third quarter would go on a 11-0 run that would reduce Indiana’s lead to 76-74; however, the Pacers closed the period with a 14-5 run, taking to the fourth quarter a 90-79 advantage.? The 76ers would get to within 106-100 in the fourth period, but Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala would toss an airball, which ended any chance for them to rally and perhaps threaten the Pacers in the final minute.? Indiana was led by Rush with 25 points, including 5 treys; Dunleavy added 24 - including?3 three-pointers - ?with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, while Danny Granger pitched in with 18.

Philadelphia’s leading scorer was Iguodala with 23 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Andre Miller added?21 with 4 rebounds and 5 assists; Thaddeus Young chipped in with 13, while Samuel Dalembert, even though he only scored 5 points grabbed 13 boards.? Indiana (19-23) continues their road trip with a visit to the United Center to face the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night, while Philadelphia (16-26) remains home to host the Detroit Pistons - also on Wednesday.



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