Philadelphia 76ers Blog – Page 60 – NBA Blog

Jrue Holiday scores 30, Sixers beat Rockets

The 76ers found the fresh start at home they wanted.

Jrue Holiday scored 30 points, Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 107-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Jason Richardson scored 16 points for the Sixers, who finally return home for a lengthy stint as they try to play their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Sixers opened a stretch of 12 home games in the next 13 and hope they can start to offset a miserable 2-6 road trip that stretched over the new year. They played 12 of 15 on the road dating back to Dec. 14…

The road woes are one reason the Sixers are only 6-16 after a nice 10-6 start to the season. But it’s turned into crunch time quickly for the Sixers as they as try and get back to .500 in the next month before the hopeful return of injured center Andrew Bynum.

James Harden led the Rockets with 29 points and Chandler Parsons had 23. Jeremy Lin missed 11 of 13 shots for seven points en route to Houston’s third straight loss…

Houston’s cold stretch was uncharacteristic of a team that was second in the NBA in scoring (105.60 points) behind Oklahoma City. The Rockets only shot 30 percent from 3-point range (8 of 32) and had no answer to stop Holiday en route to their third straight loss.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Amir Johnson leads Raptors past slumping 76ers

After finishing off a long stretch of games with another deflating defeat, the Philadelphia 76ers are finally getting a chance to rest.

Jrue Holiday, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

Amir Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Jose Calderon added 14 points and 11 assists, and the Toronto Raptors never trailed in a 90-72 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, handing the slumping 76ers their fifth straight loss.

Holiday and Thaddeus Young each scored 16 points and Evan Turner had 10 as the Sixers set a season low in points and lost for the 13th time in 16 games. Philadelphia has played 12 of its past 16 on the road, winning just twice…

Starting for the first time since Nov. 7, Toronto’s Landry Fields set season highs with 10 points and 11 rebounds…

DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points and Ed Davis had 17 for the Raptors, who had lost six of their previous seven meetings with Philadelphia, including three straight…

Philadelphia’s Jason Richardson did not play because of a sore wrist. Collins said he gave Richardson, who has missed time with back and ankle injuries this season, ”a San Antonio Spur day.”

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Reggie Evans grabs 23 rebounds in Nets win over 76ers

P.J. Carlesimo had little patience for questions about Andray Blatche before the Brooklyn Nets routed the Philadelphia 76ers.

”He’s been playing well and I expect him to play well today,” he said.

Blatche did play well, scoring 20 points hours after he was questioned by Philadelphia police as part of a sexual assault investigation at an upscale hotel. He helped the Nets improve to 6-1 under Carlesimo with a 109-89 win over the 76ers on Tuesday night…

Reggie Evans grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds, and Williams scored 22 points for the Nets.

Evans dominated on the glass, outrebounding the undersized Sixers 23-22 through three quarters. Evans had 22 rebounds against Seattle in 2006.

Up by one at halftime, the Nets routed the Sixers in the third. Joe Johnson, who scored 15 points, and Gerald Wallace each hit 3-pointers during a game-changing 16-2 run to open the quarter. The Nets made 14 of 19 shots in the third to stretch the lead to 23 points…

Evans had 16 rebounds (12 defensive) by halftime, three fewer than Philadelphia’s total. He had 20 rebounds with 6:54 left in the third, one more than the Sixers. He finished with 17 defensive rebounds, but scored only two points..

”It don’t matter to me about scoring,” Evans said. ”We’ve got guys in here that can go out and score 100 points every night. When I score, it’s a bonus. I just want to go out, do what I do, and get wins.”

Jrue Holiday scored 19 points and Spencer Hawes had 14 for the Sixers, who stumbled home from a 2-6 trip and on a three-game losing streak.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

76ers sign guard Maalik Wayns to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have brought back free agent guard Maalik Wayns and signed him to a 10-day contract.

Wayns (6-1, 195) was not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft following his junior season with Villanova. He originally signed as a free agent with the Sixers on July 31 and was waived on January 6.

In 20 games for the Sixers this season, Wayns is averaging 2.5 points and 1.0 assists in 7.8 minutes per game.

Sixers waive Maalik Wayns, recall Arnett Moultrie from D-League

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have recalled rookie forward Arnett Moultrie from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce and waived rookie guard Maalik Wayns. The Sixers roster now stands at 13.

Moultrie (6-10, 245) was the 27th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by Miami. He was traded to Philadelphia on draft night in exchange for the draft rights to Justin Hamilton (45th overall pick) and a protected future first round pick

In seven games during his assignment with the Skyforce, Moultrie averaged 9.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.3 minutes per game. He has appeared in 11 games for the Sixers this season.

Wayns (6-1, 195) was not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft following his junior season with Villanova. He signed as a free agent with the Sixers on July 31 and saw action in 20 games this season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.0 assists in 7.8 minutes per game.

Big second half helps Thunder wreck Sixers

The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t want to leave home on a sour note with a difficult stretch on the road ahead.

Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 and the Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-85 on Friday night before heading out to play 11 of their next 13 games on the road.

Oklahoma City made eight of its first 10 3-point attempts in the second half and never trailed after scoring the final five points before halftime.

The Thunder had lost 110-93 to Brooklyn on Wednesday night, but were able to avoid posting back-to-back losses at home for the first time since dropping two of the first three games of the 2010-11 season…

Oklahoma City went 23 for 36 from the field, connecting at a sizzling 64 percent clip, while outscoring Philadelphia 63-43 in the second half…

Serge Ibaka chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Martin had 16 points off the bench for the Thunder.

Nick Young hit five 3-pointers and led Philadelphia with 21 points. He also attempted the Sixers’ only eight free throws of the game, making six. Oklahoma City went 21 for 27…

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and nine assists, Dorell Wright contributed 11 points and Thaddeus Young scored 10 for Philadelphia. Spencer Hawes pulled down 13 rebounds. The Sixers fell to 2-5 on their eight-game road trip, which started before Christmas and concludes Saturday night at San Antonio.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Jrue Holiday gets triple-double in loss to Suns

After Luis Scola gave the Phoenix Suns a nice cushion late in the game, the 76ers were unable to complete a late rally and fell to the Suns, 95-89, Wednesday night at US Airways Center.

The loss wasted a triple-double (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) by Jrue Holiday. The Suns, led by Scola’s 21 points, ended a six-game losing streak and beat a Doug Collins-coached Sixers team for the first time.

“I don’t want a triple-double if we don’t win,” Holiday said.

The Suns took their largest lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Scola sank a jump shot for a 77-66 advantage. The Sixers steadily cut into the lead and finally got to within 87-85 when Holiday hit Dorell Wright for a layup with just over two minutes to play.

That was the closest the Sixers would get.

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Suns beat 76ers to end six-game skid

Luis Scola and the Phoenix Suns have watched a lot of late leads vanish. On Wednesday, they found a way to hold on.

Scola scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and the Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 95-89 to snap a six-game losing streak.

”It’s only one win but we needed one win,” Scola said…

Dragic added 20, Shannon Brown scored 12, and Marcin Gortat had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns…

Holliday had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double for the 76ers, who are 2-7 in the second half of back-to-back games. Wright and Thaddeus Young had 14 points apiece for Philadelphia…

Scola has scored 20 or more in three straight games. … Phoenix has won five of its past seven at home. . The Sixers are six games into a season-high, eight-game holiday road trip.

— Reported by Jonathan Dalton of the Associated Press

Lakers guard Jodie Meeks holds no grudge towards Sixers

Sometimes when they leave a team and land somewhere else, NBA players don’t speak fondly about their old club.

Not so with Jodie Meeks, now a backup guard with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Meeks spent almost three seasons in Philadelphia and started 114 games before the 76ers allowed him to walk as a free agent last summer. Meeks wanted to stay in Philadelphia, but he knew that the Sixers wanted to free up more playing time for Evan Turner, the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.

No hard feelings.

“No, not at all,” said Meeks, who signed a two-year, $3 million deal to be a backup with the Lakers. “I liked everything about Philadelphia. It was a good organization. I liked Coach [Doug] Collins and still do to this day. He gave me the chance to start in the NBA and I loved playing for him. . . . But they made a business decision and it was time to move on.”

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Jrue Holiday leads Sixers over Lakers 103-99

Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 10 assists, Evan Turner added 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers rang in the new year with a 103-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

The Lakers (15-16) have matched their worst start after 31 games since the 2002-03 season, when they began defense of their third straight NBA title with a 12-19 record.

Kobe Bryant, who shifted from shooting guard to small forward five games ago in coach Mike D’Antoni’s redesigned rotation, led the Lakers with 36 points. Steve Nash added 12 points and 10 assists.

The Lakers, who tied a franchise record with 10 3-pointers in the first half of their 111-98 win at Philadelphia on Dec. 16, were 1 for 11 from 3-point range before intermission in the rematch and finished 3 for 22 from behind the arc.

Pau Gasol had 11 points and nine rebounds, but shot only 2 for 12 while playing on a sore right foot. Dwight Howard missed his first five shots and finished 1 for 7 with seven points and 14 boards. The six-time All-Star’s only field goal came with 6:15 left in the third quarter, a put-back dunk that reduced Philadelphia’s lead to 67-63…

Lakers reserve F Antawn Jamison was benched for the sixth straight game. The 15-year veteran, a two-time All-Star and former sixth man of the year (2003-04), hasn’t played since Dec. 16, when he went scoreless in 13 minutes against the 76ers.

— Reported by Joe Resnick of the Associated Press