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Sixers upend ice-cold Hornets

Dec 12, 2010 - 8:33 PM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Andre Iguodala scored 16 to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists as the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to an 88-70 victory over the New Orleans Hornets at Wells Fargo Center.

Lou Williams accounted for 17 points and Elton Brand had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who capped a 3-1 homestand with the win. Jrue Holiday added 12 points and four assists.

"The mentality around the team is great. Five out of seven," stated Brand when talking about the team's recent success. "We had a lead out in Atlanta, big lead and the one-point loss the other day [to Boston]. That could have been seven in a row. We would have been one of the most talked about teams in the league, so they know we can play. We are just working hard to get better."

Chris Paul led the Hornets with 25 points but fell well below his 10.4 assists per game average because of a dismal shooting day from his team. David West accounted for nine points and eight rebounds and Trevor Ariza grabbed 10 boards for the Hornets, who have lost two in a row and four of their last five.

"Give them credit. They switched, they're active and athletic," Hornets head coach Monty Williams said of the Sixers. "But we missed a lot of point blank shots and we missed a lot of free throws."

The Sixers capitalized on a poor shooting first quarter for New Orleans -- 5- of-21 from the field -- to take a 20-13 lead after the opening 12 minutes.

The storyline of the game took place in the second quarter as New Orleans broke various franchise records for offensive futility.

Philadelphia started the second on a 12-0 run, and it took until a Marcus Thornton free throw at 6:29 for the first Hornets points. New Orleans' slump continued as they shot 1-of-21 from the field in the quarter en route to a 45-23 Sixers lead at the break.

The Hornets shot 6-of-42 in the first half, which garnered the distinction as the worst shooting start in franchise history. Their one field goal in the second quarter was also a franchise first.

Although the 10-point second quarter was low it was not the league's worst as the Los Angeles Clippers hold that honor with a three-point second quarter in a game against the Lakers on December 14, 1999.

New Orleans made 8-of-15 from the field in the third quarter -- which included seven points from Paul -- but Philadelphia still held the 67-46 advantage heading to the final stanza.

The fourth quarter was all but a formality as Philadelphia's lead reached as high as 27 at the midway point of the quarter and stayed around 20 throughout.

Game Notes

Sunday's game kicked off five games in seven days for the Sixers...This was the return of Willie Green and Jason Smith to Philadelphia. The pair, who both went scoreless, was sent to New Orleans in a trade for Darius Songaila and Craig Brackins in the off-season...Philadelphia won both meetings last season after losing the previous four...The winner of the first game has swept the season series for the past four years...New Orleans visits the Miami Heat on Monday...The Hornets shot 30.4 percent overall.