Tale Of Two Halves
By Brian G.
Happy MLK Day to everyone! The Sixers were on the road for a matinee showdown in T’Wolve land this afternoon and what a game it ended up to be. The tale of two halves was evident as the Sixers came out with energy, poise and a defensive prowess that forced 11 Minnesota turnovers. Those turnovers turned into points as the beloved Sixers were able to get out and get some transition baskets much like their last two games.
The most impressive part of the first half was that the Sixers led by as many as 20 points and were in such control that it didn’t matter where Minnesota looked for answers. Thaddeus Young continued to run the floor for some easy buckets and Louis Williams came out firing with eight points in the first quarter. Williams’ jump shot was on point and the dribble drive was very effective. On the defensive side of the ball, Marreese Speights, Elton Brand, Young and Samuel Dalembert were active grabbing rebounds and altering numerous T’Wolve shot attempts. With 6:30 left in the second quarter, the Sixers led by a count of 40-24.
Samuel Dalembert did most of his scoring damage in the second frame, netting eight points and continuing to be a presence in the painted area. Though, most fans will agree this was not the best outing as we have seen the potential of Dalembert in the last few games. This would be chalked up as sort of sub-par. The bench was extrodinary in this one, especially the likes of Willie Green coming off the bench to score 16 points. At the half, the Sixers held true to a 17 points lead at 57-40.
Take it easy folks, that would be short lived. All the good that happened in the first half seemingly turned to garbage in the second. After the intermission, the Sixers looked like a life-less bag of jello upon taking the floor. Their energy suddenly evaportated and the old jump shooting brick school began to take shape. Why? Instead of putting more pressure and making a statement in the second half, the Sixers defense suddenly fell off and their offensive production purely wreaked. This allowed the T”Wolves to not even climb back into the game, but surge back. Finally after an 11-2 run by Minnesota, Eddie Jordan opted for a timeout. After that, it was a back and forth affair that saw rookie, Jonny Flynn torch the Sixers time and time again for a career high 29 points while dishing out nine assists.
At the end of regulation the game was notted at 99 and the Sixers were headed for overtime. In the extra frame, the Sixers scored only four points to the Wolves nine and thus lost this one on the road by a count of 108-103. Such a disheartening loss for the beloved Sixers squad who will look ahead to Wednesday when they take on the Portland Trailblazers at the Wachovia Center.
After a loss like this, it will be hard to regroup especially after performing like the dominant team we saw Friday against Sacramento. Some notes on this one; Allen Iverson was 4-of-12 for a total of 11 points and suffered from a stomach virus just yesterday. Iguodala ended up leading the team in scoring with 17. The big story in this one like I mentioned before was the second half defensive effort. Ryan Gomes comes in with 14 points in the third quarter, Al Jefferson got going after being sort of stymined in the first half. The T’Wolves now have nine wins, when realistically the Sixers let this one get away.
PEACE FROM THE 570!