Philly Sports Today

With their seasons winding down, both the Flyers and Sixers were on the road and looking to bounce back from disappointing losses. The Flyers got back on the winning track by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 6-4 and the victory gave the Flyers its season sweep of Buffalo since the 2000-2001 season. Meanwhile, the Sixers struggled in the middle quarters and ultimately fell to the Golden State Warriors 119-111. So, I guess one out of two ain’t bad.

Let’s start with the Flyers, who desperately needed a win after losing three of their last four games. Late in the first period, Mike Richards was awarded a penalty shot, but his wrist shot clanged off of the goal post. However, the Captain made up for it 42 seconds later with another wrist shot on the power play that beat Buffalo goalie Patrick Lalime to give Philly a 1-0 lead. The Sabres seized control of the game early in the second period when both Thomas Vanek and Dominic Moore found the net. Simon Gagne pulled the Flyers even with another power play goal, but Derek Roy answered a few minutes later with a goal that gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead. Late in the second period, Danny Briere finally looked like he was back to his old self. Briere tied the game at 3-3 with a goal off of a rebound from the left side of the net that he put into the top right corner. A little over two minutes later, Briere scored again, this time on a slapshot from the slot, to put Philly up 4-3.

The goals kept coming for the Flyers in the third period as Mike Knuble batted in a rebound for his 24th goal of the year and Jeff Carter took his 38th stroll in the red light district to put Philly ahead 6-3. Buffalo’s Chris Butler scored his first career NHL goal with only 1.2 seconds left to make it 6-4, but it would clearly not be enough for the Sabres as the Flyers rolled to the win.

Martin Biron, who is now 6-2-1 against his former team, made 39 saves. Lalime stopped 25 of the 31 shots that came his way. Even in a game where the Flyers scored six goals, they were still badly outshot. In addition, Philly also gave Buffalo seven power play opportunities. Luckily, the penalty kill had a great night or this game could have easily been another loss.

The Flyers will conclude their current four-game road swing tomorrow when they take on the surging Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams are currently tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 86 points, but the Flyers have three games in hand. Either way, the Orange and Black only have 12 games left, and tomorrow’s game is one of their most important. The last time these two teams met, Philly suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 loss after a bonehead play by Biron. They can’t afford to gift wrap another two points for the Penguins.

Let’s Go Flyers!

Now, let’s talk about the Sixers, who just didn’t seem to have enough offense to hang with the Warriors. When these two teams met back in November, Philly won a low-scoring affair 89-81. The rematch was the exact opposite as Golden State rolled 119-111. Unlike in November, each team had two players score over 20 points and six players total that reached double figures. Normally, the Sixers can beat high-scoring teams that play no defense (i.e. the New York Knicks), but it didn’t work out for them this time.

Samuel Dalembert had a man’s game in the middle with 15 points and 23 rebounds. Sammy D has always had the potential to dominate games like this, but he doesn’t bring this type of effort on a consistent basis. Thaddeus Young led the Sixers in scoring with 23 points and also six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Andre Iguodala added 19 points to go along with his seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Andre Miller and Willie Green each chipped in 10 points. Off the bench, Louis Williams had big night with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Like Dalembert, Lou Will has the potential to be much better than he actually is, but he still hasn’t figured it out yet. Marreese Speights also netted 10 points in a reserve role.

After missing 27 games with a shoulder injury and only returning to the line-up last week, Brandan Wright led the Warriors with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and six rebounds. Monta Ellis poured in 21 points with four boards and four dimes, while Stephen Jackson stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. Kelenna Azubuike added 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Anthony Morrow was the high man off the bench with 16 points and six assists, while Corey Maggette chipped in 12 points.

The Sixers continue their Western Conference road trip tomorrow night when they travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings. Philly thrashed Sacramento 125-91 back in early November and a repeat performance would be pretty nice.

Go Sixers!

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