• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Smith, Sixers overcome 17-point deficit in win over Hawks

Apr 9, 2007 - 4:13 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Joe Smith and the Philadelphia 76ers may be out of playoff contention but they are not quitting on the season.

Smith scored a season-high 18 points, including seven in overtime, as the Sixers battled back from a 17-point second-half deficit to post a 109-104 victory over the injury-riddled Atlanta Hawks.

Andre Iguodala added 25 points and eight assists as the 76ers won the season series, 3-1.

Slava Medvedenko, who had scored just 18 points since being signed in December, had 14 off the bench for the Hawks, who were without four starters due to injury, including leading scorer Joe Johnson.

To make matters worse, the Hawks were without Josh Smith for the entire overtime. The former slam dunk champion scored 16 points but was sent to the locker room at the end of regulation for disciplinary reasons.

"That's something that will be addressed in-house when we get back tomorrow," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I had sent him in because of conduct but we'll address that when we get back to Atlanta. You got to be able to control your emotions on our bench. He didn't and I had to send him in."

Iguodala and the Sixers battled back from the huge second-half deficit. The 6-9 swingman flew through the lane with an emphatic one-handed jam to knot the game at 93-93 with 17.6 seconds left.

Tyronn Lue, who scored 24 points, then missed a tough fadeaway jumper at the end of regulation.

"We came out to a great start," Lue said. "We obviously played a great three quarters and in the fourth quarter they were able to figure out our zone and we were unable to stop their momentum."

With Josh Smith not around in overtime, Joe Smith and the Sixers took over. The 12-year veteran hit a 3-pointer to give Philadelphia its first lead, 96-95, since the first quarter and sparked a 7-2 run that gave them a 100-95 edge.

With 24.6 seconds left and the Sixers up, 104-102, point guard Andre Miller gathered a loose ball and hit a floating bank shot to seal the win.

Marvin Williams scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Atlanta, which shot 57 percent (21-of-37) in the first half and led, 62-45, early in the third quarter.

However, Philadelphia went on a 25-12 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Rodney Carney with 1.1 seconds remaining, to cut the lead to 74-70 entering the final period.

"In the second half we did a much better job of taking care of the ball," Joe Smith said. "We also made shots we were capable of making. We broke them down in the middle. Our guards did a better job of penetrating and our big men did a good job of flashing inside the paint.

"It was a tale of two halves," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "In the first half they were getting up and down the floor, outrunning us, getting easy shots. I thought that their zone bothered us a little bit in the first half.

"In the second half we attacked the zone. We attacked it with a little dribble penetration. Making some outside shots really helped us."

Carney, who scored 13 points, was hit in the head and knee when he collided with teammate Samuel Dalembert in the lane with 1:48 left. He did not return.