Dec 14 2008
Flyers and Sixers win big at home
Here’s a quick recap of Saturday’s action in Philadelphia sports. The Flyers picked up a huge 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to move into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Philly is 12-1-3 in their last 16 games. That’s a blistering pace. Mike Knuble scored two power play goals. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards each had a goal and two assists. Joffrey Lupul scored a goal and had a helper, while Scott Hartnell also found the net. Kimmo Timonen had four assists and Matt Carle had two helpers in his return to the ice after missing the last five games with a back/rib injury. Martin Biron made 23 saves. The Flyers were 4-of-6 on the power play, while they held the Penguins to just 1-of-4 on the power play. Anytime the Flyers can beat the Penguins, it’s a good win. The Flyers return to the ice on Tuesday when they host the Colorado Avalanche, who won the previous meeting 5-2. Maybe some revenge is on the menu for Tuesday?
Let’s Go Flyers!
Unlike the Flyers, who continue to climb the standings after their slow start, the Sixers have seemed content with sliding down the standings. As a result, Head Coach Maurice Cheeks was fired hours before the team’s home game against the Washington Wizards. Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo was named interim head coach and led the Sixers to a 104-89 win, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Elton Brand scored a season-high 27 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Andre Iguodala added 14 points and Willie Green, in his first start of the season, had 13 points. Sammy Dalembert had 5 points and 17 rebounds, while Andre Miller added 8 points to go with his 12 assists. Coming off the bench for the first time this year, Thaddeus Young scored 14 points. Lou Williams had a solid night as well with 15 points off the bench. Maybe DiLeo will be able to get something out of this collection of underachievers. If not, the Sixers will be pretty bad for a long time, especially with all of the money that they have locked up in Brand and Iguodala. The Sixers return to the court on Wednesday night when the host the Milwaukee Bucks. Philly is impossible to read, so they could win by 20 or lose by 20 and it wouldn’t really be much of a shock on any given night.
Go Sixers.
