Dec 5, 2007 9:44 pm US/Eastern
Strong 2nd Half Carries Celts Past Sixers 113-103
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
The 76ers' first game under new management ended like so many of their other ones under former president Billy King: with a loss.
Paul Pierce had 19 points and 12 assists, Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and the Boston Celtics broke open a surprisingly tight game in the fourth quarter to beat Philadelphia 113-103 Wednesday night.
Ray Allen scored 12 points to make sure that Boston's big three had their usual strong all-around games. But it was Eddie House and James Posey who sank the big 3-pointers that let the NBA-best Celtics remain undefeated in the Atlantic Division and improve to 12-2 in the East.
House and Posey went 7-for-13 on 3s and that was the difference late in the game.
Andre Miller kept the Sixers alive until the fourth with his first double-double of the season, a 26-point, 12-assist effort that was one of his best games in Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala scored 24 points.
The Sixers gave an inspired effort in their first game with Ed Stefanski as president and general manager. Stefanski left his job as general manager of the Nets to take a similar role in Philadelphia after King was fired on Monday.
Posey hit a pair of 3s in the final minute of the third that helped the Celtics take a three-point lead. He hit another early in the fourth that tied the game at 86.
The Sixers took the lead one last time, 88-86, with two of Miller's free throws. They played hard, played smart, even shot 56 percent from the floor, but they simply couldn't stop the more-talented Celtics down the stretch.
House hit consecutive 3s that sparked a 12-2 run that made it 98-90. Posey hit another 3 later in the fourth that pushed the lead to 103-94 and the Sixers did not have another run left in them.
More performances like the Sixers had in the first half and King might still have a job. The Sixers entered shooting 43 percent from the floor, a number that hardly seemed to suggest they'd make 14 of 19 in the first quarter and take a 32-26 lead.
Iguodala's perfect lob to Samuel Dalembert set up an alley-oop in the second, and Iguodala hit a fallaway jumper as the shot clock expired to get a rise out of a rare strong home crowd. That shot gave the Sixers an 11-point lead and they led 57-52 at halftime.
Notes: Pierce scolded a couple of teammates in the locker room for having too much fun and screaming to some music before the game. "We're trying to play a game," he said. The two players got quiet. ... Pierce said the additions of Garnett and Allen mean he no longer has to play the role of big brother. He said last year he spent too much time telling his younger teammates what to do, where to go, what to eat, how to dress.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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