A Loss That Could Really Sting

The Charlotte Hornets are the kind of team the Sixers will have to beat down the stretch if they're to maintain their precarious hold on the East's No. 5 playoff spot--or even move up.

Larry Brown's team is no longer one of the NBA's laughingstocks at 31-39. But they're not exactly ready for prime time, either.

Having nudged a mere percentage point ahead of Dwyane Wade and the struggling Miami Heat, the Sixers goal is not to give it back. With half their remaining games at home, and the majority of them against teams with sub. 500 records, the opportunity clearly is right there ahead of them. They need to either play well enough to stay in fifth—or stage a spectacular finish to rally past the 42-30 Hawks for fourth and potential home court advantage in a first-round series with Atlanta.

None of which they did here last night, digging themselves a 17-point halftime hole, which grew to 18 early in the fourth quarter, before they began their inevitable comeback. But, as if often the case, it wasn't quite enough, the Hornets holding them off, 100-95.

Boris Diaw paced a balanced attack for the Hornets with 24 points Raymond Felton followed with 20, then Gerald Wallace with 14 and 11 rebounds.

Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young provided the bulk of the 37-34 Sixers offense , scoring 25 and 21 respectively.

The Sixers started off sluggishly, allowing the Hornets to penetrate for high percentage shots, while falling behind 29-23 after one thanks to Charlotte’s 130-for-22 59.1 % shooting. In the second the Hornets pushed that as high as 34-25, before the Sixers began to battle back.<

But after drawing within 36-31 on Young’s hoop, Charlotte took command. Over the final 5:14 the Hornets blanked the Sixers, while running off 14 unanswered points, five apiece by rookie D.J. Augustin and former Sixers Raja Bell.

That sent Charlotte to the locker room up 50-33

They tacked on one more basket to make it 52-33, before the Sixers finally broke the drought.. Philadelphia then spent the rest of the period trying to chip away at the deficit, getting as close as 63-52 on Willie Green’s basket. They were still down 11 inside 2:00 when Wallace and Felton scored to help restore the spread to 73-60 heading into the fourth quarter.<

From there it reached 77-60 on Waace’s free throws, then 80-62 on Augustin’s second trey of the night. But the Sixers braced for one last desperate push, Young’s 20 footer cutting it to 82-71. Later Lou Williams’ free throws and an Iguodala dunk narorowed the gap to 88-80, the closest they’d been since the second quarter.

But when Bell was able to retrieve his own miss, setting up Diaw for a three-point play the pressure eased for a moment. Still, the Sixers kept charging, Iguodala’s 3-pointer again making it an eight-point game, 93-85. Things got interesting when Williams drove the lane for a three-point play, making it 94-90 with 1:49 remaining, followed by Young’s driving layup.

But Diaw got inside for a layup to momentarily silence the crowd, then Bell knocked down two free throws, Iguodala responded with a 3-pointer, making it a one-possession game, 98-95. Bell missed a 20-footer only to see the Sixers bat it out of bounds, Felton then dribbled for 15 seconds at the top of the key, before slicing to the hoop for the clinching layup with 7.9 seconds left.

In the aftermath DiLeo and his players talked about getting off to a slow start, not matching Charlotte's energy and agressiveness, as well as the price they paid for it. With just 11 games remaining, the ultimate price could prove very costly.

If things remain as bunched up as they are for those coveted 4-5 playoff spots, downt the road the Sixers may well point to this loss to the Hornets as one that really stings.