Sixers Dig Deep and Take Game 2

Tough game on the eyes once again but the Sixers won in the end.  A strong game by Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala lead the Sixers.  Jrue had 18 points, 3 assists, and most importantly 1 turnover to lead the Sixers.  He had timely baskets in clutch situations and a less than ideal turnover in the next play.  His youth has a tendency to come out in the most inconvenient times but it was outweighed by his shooting and his teammates ability to step up.  Evan Turner had big buckets in the 4th quarter showing Doug Collins that he made the right decision in leaving him in the game.  Lou had arguably his best all around game in the playoffs with some decent defense, for Lou that is, on Rajon Rondo.  Rondo had his normal 13 assists.  Lou seemed to do a better job than Jrue keeping Rondo out of his normal rhythm and kept good care of the ball with no turnovers.  He played a solid 39 minutes off the bench.  The Celtics fell into deep slumps where they could not hit anything.

Sixers Complete Upset of Shorthanded #1 Seed

Yea, it was about that tough.

As a Philly sports fan I prepare myself for anything.  And as history dictates, I was preparing myself for the worst and hoping for the best.  For the first time in recent history the city of Philadelphia and the Sixers were rewarded.  Iguodala, who had a aggravatingly sub par year from the stripe, made two pressure free throws to win the game.  I am elated that the Sixers chose the playoffs as a time to pull out close games.  This is when it counts most, right?

The first half was exactly as I would have diagrammed it if I were Doug Collins.  The Bulls put forth a valiant effort, but just could not keep up with the Sixers' defense in the first.  Luol Deng had a strong first half with 10, but was forced to sit when an errant elbow cracked his face open.  He was assisted by spark plug and St. Joe's nemesis, John Lucas,III .  The Bulls ran the same screen and go play 4 straight times down the floor and it led to Jon Lucas scoring a quick 7 points.  The frountcourt of the Bulls played very aggressively and physically.  Leading to 14 points for Taj Gibson, 10 for Omer Asik.  Asik had a career game with highs for points and rebounds(9).

The energy of the Bulls was admirable but the Sixers could not miss it seems in the first half.  The Bulls decided to go under screens for Jrue Holiday and Jrue took the shot when it was given to him.  He led the team with 12 in the half.  Iguodala decided to go shot for shot with Deng in this game to go along with some decent defense.  Deng had 19 on .500 shooting but most of his shots were on put backs, and that is reflected in his gaudy number of rebounds(17).  Lou Williams got off in the second quarter scoring 11 points.  Lou took his defensive assignment seriously tonight.  He countered some shaky decisions with 3 steals that led to some easy baskets that always works wonder for his jump shot.

Sixers High-Low Decimated Bulls To Take a 3-1 Lead

Another great game played by the Sixers, that showed fortitude and resilience.  Jrue Holiday was abysmal the first half going 1-13, while keeping his turnovers limited.  Spencer Hawes really kept the Sixers in the game with some tough rebounding and timely outside shooting.  His game made Tom Thibodeau adjust his defense and bring his center Omer Asik out of the lane and take away the little interior defense that the Bulls did have.  Spencer Hawes proved to be too much for the remaining bigs of the Bulls.  Asik was over matched and could not defend both Hawes and the lane.

Hawes' play opened the lane for the Sixers' wings to do some damage.  It was great to see Hawes return to early season form after having a major portion of his season taken by injury.  I hope this is not just a push for a new contract and a new focused center that could really lead the Sixers deep into the playoffs.
(More After the Break)