Elton Brand had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers pounced early and coasted to their first victory of the season, 101-75,over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Thaddeus Young scored 16 points off the bench and Andre Iguodala had 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks for Philadelphia, which suffered a scare when coach Doug Collins did not return after halftime because of symptoms related to vertigo. Collins missed two games in the preseason because of symptoms related to a concussion he suffered on Memorial Day.
The Sixers came out with a lot of enthusiasm after a demoralizing 116-115 overtime loss at Washington on Tuesday and facing an 0-5 start for the first time since 2001-02. Philadelphia broke an early tie by ending the first quarter on a 21-6 run, shooting 11-of-19 in the period with just one turnover.
The Sixers closed the half on a 14-4 surge to push the edge to 57-31 at the break. Brand had 13 points and six boards and Young added 11 points off the bench in 15 minutes.
Indiana got as close as 15 points, but Philadelphia took a 78-58 lead when Lou Williams ended the third quarter with a 3-pointer.
Danny Granger, who scored 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting against Iguodala in the Pacers’ 99-86 home win Saturday, shot just 2-of-14 for seven points.
Darren Collison had 11 points for the Pacers, who shot just 31.5 percent (28-of-89).
Indiana | Philadelphia | |
Darren Collison 11 | Scoring | Elton Brand 25 |
Darren Collison 3 | Assists | Jrue Holiday 5 |
Roy Hibbert 8 | Rebounds | Elton Brand 12 |
Dahntay Jones 4 | Free Throws Made | Elton Brand 7 |
Josh McRoberts 3 | Steals | Jrue Holiday 4 |
Roy Hibbert 3 | Blocks | Andre Iguodala 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Indiana | 75 | 31.5 | 7-22 | 12-17 | 19 | 46 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
Philadelphia | 101 | 46.9 | 4-12 | 21-25 | 21 | 54 | 8 | 9 | 10 |