The opponent last night couldn't have been any more daunting, the San Antonio Spurs, who had a NBA best 44-8 record and the de facto number one seed in the NBA.
What resulted from the Sixers was one of the best played defensive games of the year, this is a Spurs team that outscores people on a nightly basis and averages over 103 points per game which is good enough to rank sixth in the NBA.
Philadelphia was able to hold the Spurs to a season low 71 points and shot 33% from the floor. The Sixers weren't much better shooting wise, only hitting shots at a 35% clip, but they did have a hot shooter on their side.
Jrue Holiday picked up his team late with from clutch baskets when the game was still in doubt and people are beginning to believe more and more in the young point guard. It's always a tough match up going head-to-head with Tony Parker, but tonight the play of Parker was a non factor down the stretch as he was held to only nine points on 3-10 shooting.I've talked a lot about the recent play of Elton Brand, he wasn't a beast scoring wise last night, but he hit a big-time shot for the Sixers late in the fourth quarter and had a game high 17 rebounds including a couple huge offensive rebounds that gave the Sixers more time to kill clock late in the game. The passion of Elton Brand this season has been very evident and he's been definitely getting the appreciation from the crowd as a result of his hard work on the boards.
It's a great sign that the Sixers were able to bounce back after a tough loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night and put together a defensive gem like this one considering the defense didn't close very well that night.
One thing you can tell about this team is its short term memory, which is a great thing to have in the NBA, one bad loss stays one bad loss and those games don't turn into extended losing streaks which can happen in the NBA (look at the Cavs). The Sixers have been able to dust themselves off and get back up and face every new challenge without any signs of hangover and that's another improvement we've seen out of the Sixers this season.
The Sixers improve to a sparkling 17-9 at hone now and are just two games behind the New York Knicks for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and now the only thing Doug Collins has to do is find a way to get the Wells Fargo Center booked for Sixers basketball every Friday night.
Photo Courtesy CSNPhilly.com
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