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Sixers down Pacers for 5th straight win

Jan 10, 2012 - 3:42 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Andre Iguodala scored 20 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out five assists, as the Philadelphia 76ers stayed hot with a 96-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Lou Williams added 13 points and six assists for the Sixers, who have won five in a row for the first time since January 31-February 9, 2010.

Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday donated 12 points apiece. Nikola Vucevic tallied 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Sixers' 6-2 start is their best since the 2000-01 season, when they won their first 10 games and went to the NBA Finals.

"A great win for our guys," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said. "Indiana is a very tough team to play against. Their size in the paint causes a lot of problems. I thought our execution coming down the stretch was great."

Roy Hibbert ended with 19 points and eight boards for the Pacers, who played without forward Danny Granger (food poisoning). David West added 15 points and 11 boards.

Paul George and Dahntay Jones chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Indiana, which had a brief two-game winning streak snapped.

"It's still early in the season," Hibbert said. "Unfortunately, we lost, but there are a lot more games to go. Hopefully we can get them the next time."

With the score tied at 20-20 late in the first quarter, the Sixers ripped off 11 straight points. Williams tallied five points during the surge, including a jumper with 10:12 left in the half for a 31-20 margin.

Indiana prevented Philadelphia from pulling away by scoring the next nine points. After each team scored 20 points in the second period, the Sixers took a 45-40 lead into the break.

Holding a 54-51 margin with 8:35 remaining in the third stanza, Philadelphia put together a 15-3 run. Nikola Vucevic's three-pointer made it a 69-54 contest with 4:37 to go.

Once again, Indiana used a burst of its own to stop the home team's momentum. George's three-pointer and Tyler Hansbrough's three-point play cut the gap to nine, 69-60. The score was 73-64 after three periods.

The Pacers never got closer than six in the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Sixers split four meetings with the Pacers last season...Philadelphia shot 50 percent from the field, while Indiana shot 36.6 percent from the floor...Hawes also had eight rebounds...Hansbrough ended with 10 points and five boards before leaving with a scratch near his right eye.