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Williams leads the way as Sixers down Bobcats in OT

Jan 18, 2011 - 12:07 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Lou Williams finished with 23 points, including a three-pointer to send the game into overtime, and the Philadelphia 76ers topped the Charlotte Bobcats, 96-92, at the Wells Fargo Center.

Elton Brand notched a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Andre Iguodala netted 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists for the Sixers, who won their first overtime game of the season and capped a three-game home stand at 2-1.

Jrue Holiday and Marreese Speights each supplied 10 points for the victors.

"Lou Williams was great in the second half," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Second [close] game in a row that we have won that we had not won all season long. It is huge growth for our team."

Boris Diaw finished with a triple-double scoring 25 while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists for Charlotte, which has dropped three straight. Kwame Brown and Stephen Jackson both scored 15 and Brown grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds in defeat.

"We expected to win," Brown said. "We know we've got to chase balls off the three-point shot but we had a mental lapse and we didn't win."

Leading 65-59, Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter on a 8-2 run, capped with a Williams driving layup at 9:21, to put the Sixers up 73-61. The Bobcats clawed their way back as a Jackson layup with five minutes remaining sparked a 13-0 run, that Jackson ended with a three-pointer at 3:11 to give Charlotte a 81-79 lead.

Williams responded with a jumper, and after Gerald Wallace made a three to put the Bobcats up 84-81, Iguodala sank two from the line with 1:10 remaining to cut the Sixers deficit to one.

After missing their next three shots, the Sixers spent their final foul on D.J. Augustin and proceeded to send Matt Carroll to the line with 7.7 ticks remaining, he made both to give Charlotte a 86-83 lead.

Out of a Philadelphia timeout, Iguodala sent the inbound pass to Williams at the corner, and after a quick shotfake to draw off his defender, sank a three to tie the game at 86 with 4.9 seconds remaining.

"I was mostly disappointed with the last shot they made because we were supposed to switch out on that and didn't and [Williams] got a wide-open look," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said.

Jackson attempted a three at the buzzer but the shot was off target.

The teams traded baskets to open the extra period, and after an Iguodala jumper with 37.9 seconds remaining the Sixers held a 92-90 advantage.

Diaw was charging in the low post, guarded by an undersized Holiday, and sent the ball to Brown at the charity stripe. Brown tried to dish the ball back to the top of the key but it was picked off by Thaddeus Young, who sent the ball to a streaking Evan Turner.

The Bobcats sent Turner to the line with 16.8 seconds remaining, he made both. On the next possession, Augustin tried to draw a foul while shooting at the far end but the ball was short and Carroll converted on the putback layup with 8.4 seconds remaining to cut the Bobcats deficit to 94-92.

Turner then proceeded to ice two final shots from the line with 7.5 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.

Diaw attempted a three in the final seconds but the shot was off target.

Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Sixers trailed 23-22 after the opening 12 minutes. Both teams suffered from the field in the second quarter and Philadelphia was able to take a 40-39 lead into the half.

Diaw opened the third quarter with a three from the left edge and after he knocked down another deep ball off a Jodie Meeks turnover, Augustin capped the quick 8-0 burst with a driving layup at 10:12.

Holiday ended the run with a layup, but the Bobcats responded with a Wallace three and Augustin pullup jumper to widen their lead to 52-42 just over the nine minute mark.

The Sixers then went on a lengthy 19-3 run, bookended with a Williams jumper and a trio of free throws, and after the teams traded baskets down the stretch the Sixers took a 65-59 lead into the final stanza.

Game Notes

Philadelphia has won four of six overall...Brand recorded a season-high five blocks...Williams scored all of his 23 points in the second half...The win makes the Sixers 12-7 at home this season, matching their total from last year (12-29)...Charlotte is now 4-14 on the road this season...Wallace finished with 11 points and six rebounds in the loss...It was Diaw's sixth career triple-double and only the second in Bobcats history (Jackson on November 20 2010).