Iguodala Pours In 19 As 76ers Blow By Bobcats 94-63

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Willie Green had 14 and the Philadelphia 76ers jumped on Charlotte early and never let up in a 94-63 win Wednesday night, sending the Bobcats back to

Wednesday, November 7th 2007, 9:40 pm

By: News On 6


PHILADELPHIA (AP) Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Willie Green had 14 and the Philadelphia 76ers jumped on Charlotte early and never let up in a 94-63 win Wednesday night, sending the Bobcats back to .500 after a brief undefeated streak.

The Bobcats went from unbeaten in the first two games to beaten badly in the next two.

So much for the confidence and momentum built off their perfect start.

``It all fell apart,'' Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said.

The Bobcats played without point guard Raymond Felton after he hurt his left knee a night earlier against Phoenix. Without the speedy Raymond Felton leading Charlotte's up-tempo offense, the Bobcats flopped from the start.

Charlotte's 2-0 start was the first time the fourth-year team had ever been two games above .500 at any point. But the Bobcats were blown out by 32 points against the Suns on Tuesday night and then narrowly avoided a record-low point total, needing one last jumper against the Sixers to surpass the 62 scored against Houston on December 8, 2006.

``We just have to forget about it,'' guard Derek Anderson said. ``We've got to figure out a way to do things right.''

Matt Carroll scored 16 points, Emeka Okafor had 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bobcats had 29 turnovers.

While Charlotte has the same record (2-2) as the Sixers, the attitude was much more upbeat in the home locker room. Picked to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Sixers have been competitive in all four games and want to be over .500 by the end of their four-game homestand which ends Sunday.

Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks has stressed the importance of making the most of a favorable schedule that has the Sixers playing 14 of their first 23 games at home.

``It helps when you have a chance to have a game like that,'' Maurice Cheeks said.

The Sixers blew open the game in the second quarter and built a 20-point lead in front of about 6,000 fans. Not that the nearly empty arena mattered much to Philly.

``When I'm playing, I'm just focused on the court,'' forward Rodney Carney said. ``It could be 20,000 people or 5,000. I'm just concerned about winning.''

Raymond Felton wouldn't have made much difference in the final score but the Bobcats were lost without him. Jeff McInnis, who subbed for Felton, and Jeff Richardson were a combined 3-for-21 from the floor with 10 turnovers.

``We know Felton has a big impact on our team,'' Sam Vincent said. ``We sorely missed him and his calming effect on us. He gets people in the right spots.''

The Sixers led by nine at the end of the first quarter, a score that could have been much worse had their nine turnovers not taken some of the bloom off 9-for-15 shooting. Rodney Carney nailed a 3 during a 19-9 run in the second and Lou Williams' bucket brought out an extended ``Looooou!'' from the home crowd.

Philly made nine more turnovers in the second, but the Bobcats missed all five 3-point attempts in the quarter and went 7-for-22.

``Going into the second half, Coach gave us a big speech about how we have to finish the game off,'' Rodney Carney said. ``We can't let them come back because they're capable of doing that. I'd say around the fourth quarter, 2 minutes to go, we knew it was done.''

Oh, it was over way earlier than that. The Sixers rolled to a 25-point lead in the third and Kyle Korver hit a 3 during a 6-0 run to open the fourth.

``You always think a team has a run left in them,'' Willie Green said. ``Fortunately for us, they didn't.''
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

November 7th, 2007

March 14th, 2024

December 4th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024