With that said, the Sixers still had to play on Sunday night in the fifth game of their home stand. They had a nice win Friday night over the Jazz largely due to the efforts of Jrue Holiday and the front-court duo of Kwame Brown and Lavoy Allen. The opponent tonight was the Cleveland Cavaliers led by young star PG Kyrie Irving. For the Sixers to win, they would need to do their best to contain him. They also had to match the hustle and rebound effort put forth by Cleveland's active big men, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson.
The game was very tight in the early going. The Sixers had 3 pointers from Turner, J-Rich, Jrue, and Dorrell Wright in the first quarter but Cleveland was matching everything that was being thrown at them. At the end of 1 the Cavs led 21-19. In the 2nd the game stayed close with both teams shooting well. Irving was leading the way for Cleveland with Turner and Nick Young for Philadelphia. The two put up a combined 19 points for the Sixers up to this point. The Cavs led for most of the quarter, but in the late going a Jrue deuce gave the Sixers the edge. They took the lead into half-time 43-42. The Sixers were getting good contribution from a number of players, while the Cavs were excelling in rebounding and second chance points. In the 3rd the Sixers finally got some separation. Nick Young, Turner, and Jrue led the charge. Good defense, getting to the free throw line, and a 7-0 run helped them get the advantage at the end of 3, 62-57. In the 4th the Sixers went up by as much as 10 but Cleveland stuck around to cut the lead by grabbing offensive rebounds for easy put-backs. The Sixers then responded and would put the game out of reach. Turner and Hawes had a couple buckets and helped to seal the deal, final score 86-79.
Box Score:
Philly -
1. Turner – 39:37 mins., 19 pts., 6 rebs., 9 asts., 1 stl., 1 blk., 2 TOs *** Player of the Game
2. Jrue – 37:01 mins., 14 pts., 4 rebs., 9 asts., 1 stl., 2 TOs
3. Hawes – 28:13 mins., 14 pts., 9 rebs., 1 ast., 1 stl., 4 blks.
4. Swag Young – 15:45 mins., 13 pts., 1 TO
5. J-Rich – 33:37 mins., 12 pts., 9 rebs., 3 asts., 2 stls., 1 blk., 1 TO
6. Thad Young – 36:50 mins., 7 pts., 6 rebs., 1 stl., 1 TO
7. D Wright – 11:46 mins., 3 pts., 4 rebs., 1 ast., 1 stl.
8. Lavoy – 21:36 mins., 2 pts., 3 rebs., 3 asts., 2 blks., 2 TOs
9. Ivey – 6:14 mins., 2 pts., 1 ast., 1 stl.
Cleveland -
Alonzo Gee – 17 pts., 4 rebs., 2 asts., 2 stls., 2 TOs
Tristan Thompson – 14 pts., 13 rebs., 2 asts., 1 blk.
Anderson Varejao – 14 pts., 15 rebs., 3 asts., 1 stl.
Kyrie Irving – 9 pts., 4 rebs., 4 asts., 1 stl., 5 TOs
The Sixers pulled this one out tonight due to an active defensive effort. Jrue played excellent defense on Kyrie Irving, holding him to a rare single-digit night. The Cavs won the rebound battle, but the Sixers did a decent enough job on the boards to keep the lead. But the real story of tonight's game was the play of the Sixers' most puzzling player, Evan Turner. He was tonight's player of the game and contributed in every aspect of the game. He had his best scoring out-put of the young season, had 9 dimes, and got after it on the boards. He had the Sixers first 5 points in the game and got hot from there on. This seems to be a trend for Turner and Coach Collins should think to involve him earlier in games to get the most out of him. If not, he tends to disappear. All in all a good win. Next game is Tuesday 7 p.m. @ Wells Fargo vs. the Toronto Raptors. CSN. More to come…
* Nick Young also left the game early after a hard collision and did not return. They said he was light-headed and dizzy, symptoms that point toward a concussion. He could be out for some upcoming games.
Dan Benton
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