[Coatesvillain]

December 12, 2004 - 2:00 PM (EST)

Milwaukee Bucks (6-11) Vs Philadelphia 76ers (7-12)

@Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Aired on: and

Projected Starting Lineups:




Season Series: First meeting of the season.

Storyline: PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia 76ers look to remain unbeaten at home against the Eastern Conference on Sunday when they meet the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wachovia Center.

The 76ers have won all five of their home contests within the East, although this will be the first such matchup since a 116-114 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on November 26.

Philadelphia has lost all four games at the Wachovia Center vs. the Western Conference.

The Sixers snapped a six-game losing streak Friday with a 93-88 road victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Coach Jim O'Brien gave Samuel Dalembert his first start of the season and he responded with 13 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots. Marc Jackson, who was subsequently moved to the bench, had 17 points and six rebounds.

The Bucks will be seeking their first winning streak in almost a month after posting a 95-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Michael Redd scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures for Milwaukee, which has not won consecutive games since winning three in a row from November 6-13.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the squads. The Bucks took two of three last season and have won four of the last six overall.

LINK

The Phan's Perspective: Remember that episode of Seinfeld, where Elaine met the bizarro world versions of Jerry, George, and Kramer? That's the best way I can explain this matchup between the 76ers and Bucks. Both have dynamic combo guards playing PG, both have second round drafted sharp shooters, both have athletic wingmen who are among the better defenders and finishers in the league, tweener power forwards, and long athletic centers who run like deers.

What's not being publicized in the articles about the Sixers win over the Bulls, is they almost crumpled in the final seconds like they have often in the season. Sometimes not losing even if it'sthe fault of the other team it'd be a building block for confidence if they can continue to win. At the begining of the month, I projected five wins, and this is one of the winnable games. To win this the Sixers have to be smart with the ball, rebound well, and shoot a high percentage, turnovers have to be converted into points.

The Bucks are going to push the tempo, so the Sixers are going to have to prove they can fight fire with fire in this one. Keith Van Horn could very well be making an appearance at the Wachovia Center in this game.

KEY MATCHUP:
VS

INJURIES:
Bucks - Daniel Santiago (eye - IL), TJ Ford (neck - IR), Toni Kukoc (hip - IL), Keith Van Horn (ankle - questionable).

76ers - Glenn Robinson (ankle - IL), Kedrick Brown (back - IL), Kevin Ollie (back - IL).

STAT LEADERS:
Points: Redd (Bucks) 21.8 PPG; Iverson (76ers) 24.9 PPG.
Rebounds: Van Horn (Bucks) 8.2 RPG; Jackson (76ers) 6.3 RPG.
Assists: Williams (Bucks) 6.8 APG; Iverson (76ers) 7.2 APG.
Blocks: Gadzuric (Bucks) 1.4 BPG; Dalembert (76ers) 1.3 BPG.
Three Pointers: Gill (Bucks) 67% 3P; Davis (76ers) 43% 3P.
Personal Fouls: Gill (Bucks) 4.3 PF; Korver (76ers) 4.3 PF.

[Coatesvillain]

Bucks lead 35-32 with 6:40 left in the second, here's a link to the live update.. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gameup...meId=241212020

Iverson leads all scorers with 20 points, going 9-16 from the field.

[Coatesvillain]

Iverson and Thomas are the only two Sixers in double figures right now at the half. Games like this I get scared of Iverson going cold in the second half, because then the rest of the team has nothing to work off of.

Kenny's jumpshot is falling a lot more consistently. For some reason though, people aren't scared of Sammy's shotblocking, Kendall Gill just nailed a layup right when Sam was in the area.

[RoddneyThaRippa]

AI was crazy but does he really need to be taking that many shots? Is the rest of the offense that bad? Also, why didn't Dalembert play more?

[bigpoppa*UK]

iverson just dropped 40 and kenny finally had a decent game with 16 rebounds

jackson shot the lights out but im still pissed that korver is not allowed to take anything but 3 pointers(so it seems)

your views

[Vermillion]

Here's me just happy with a win.

[Rayza]

good win

is kyle korver only allowed to take 3's ??
i highly doubt that coach tells him only take 3 pt shoots. Now which insane coach would do that ...................................

[Kunlun]

Three players with 20 or more. Allen Iverson had a 40 point game with 10 assists and 3 turnovers. We need this to happen more often.

[Coatesvillain]

Hopefully I get a chance to sit down and watch this game, I only got to see a good portion of the second quarter. Funny that I don't see two games, and they win both of them.. me watching games really hurts this team, doesn't it?

[Kunlun]

Now we are 2-0 when Sammy starts.