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Iguodala leads streaking 76ers to another win

Mar 8, 2007 - 5:31 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Andre Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers apparently have not given up on their season.

Iguodala recorded his third triple-double of the season and the 76ers extended their season-high winning streak to five games with a 92-89 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

Pretty much left for dead after trading Allen Iverson, Philadelphia has instead surged, winning five straight for the first time since a six-game run in November 2005. The 76ers entered the game six games behind Orlando for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Blossoming into the team's go-to player since the Iverson trade, Iguodala scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 10 assists. He split a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds to play to give the 76ers a 92-89 lead.

"It's like putting a perfect game together. Everything is clicking," Iguodala said. "The passes are completed to the right guy and they are finishing the play at the right time. It's a matter of being aggressive and getting to the basket. The rebounds are about doing the little things and getting to the loose ball."

After a timeout, Seattle inbounded the ball from halfcourt and got the shot it wanted as Ray Allen got free on a screen by Nick Collison, but his 3-pointer bounced off the rim.

Allen scored 29 points for Seattle, which dropped to 7-23 on the road this season, but had a tough shooting night and came up empty three times down the stretch.

Allen, who was 10-of-27 from the field, tied the game, 89-89, on a layup with 36 seconds remaining. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Joe Smith answered with a jumper for the 76ers with 14 seconds left.

Smith was left alone and buried an 18-footer when the Sonics decided to double-team Iguodala.

"It was a pick and roll with Sam (Dalembert) and Andre Iguodala," Smith said. "I got the ball at the top of the key and I turned and looked for a second and nobody rotated. That's a shot that I'm pretty comfortable taking."

On Seattle's next possession, Allen missed a 3-pointer and Damien Wilkins rushed a turnaround jumper after an offensive rebound. Iguodala then made one free throw to set up Allen's final miss.

"I was surprised I was so open, I rushed it a little bit," Allen said. "If I could have it back, I would have taken one more second to get my feet set. It's rare that I get that wide open at the end of a game."

Iguodala led a balanced Philadelphia offense and Dalembert came up huge on the boards. Andre Miller had 17 points, Stephen Hunter 13, Smith 11 and Kyle Korver 10. Dalembert pulled down 20 rebounds and had eight points and two blocks.

"Sam is getting better. What we've been talking about all year long is consistent play and Sam is reaching toward that goal," Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Twenty rebounds is certainly one goal you can be proud of. Not only 20 rebounds though, he had big rebounds. He had a big offensive rebound late in the game that allowed us to run down the clock even more."