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Balanced 76ers win fourth straight

Mar 9, 2008 - 8:42 PM By J.R. Radcliffe PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The balance continued for the Philadelphia 76ers, and so did the winning.

Rookie Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 22 points as the Sixers extended their winning streak to four games with a 119-97 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

The 76ers, getting production from a number of sources including Young, took charge with a torrid first half, taking a 22-point lead into the locker room.

"I thought our focus from start to finish was very good," 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We played defense and we got the ball up the floor and rebounded. We got a lot of good performances from a lot of people."

Young, averaging 7.3 points per game, was one of seven 76ers to score in double figures. He was 8-for-11 from the field and made all six of his free throws.

"Anybody can step up, we have unselfish players," Young said. "Everybody is looking at getting everybody else involved in the game. That's the best thing about our team. We're not ball hogs, we're just trying to go out there and win games."

Also scoring in digits for the Sixers were Samuel Dalembert with 18 points and Andre Miller with 16. Andre Iguodala added 15 points, while Reggie Evans added 11 and Willie Green finished with 10.

The Sixers shot 63 percent from the field in the opening two quarters, leading to a 65-43 bulge at halftime.

Young's most emphatic basket came with less than two seconds remaining before halftime, when he converted Miller's alley-oop dunk.

"It was great," Young said. "(Miller) was like, 'You just run and I'll throw it to you.' I said, 'No problem' and took off."

"Thaddeus has been playing that way since we put him in there," Cheeks said. "It's not like a surprise to us. He scored 20-plus points and we didn't run one play for him. That's the way he plays. He rebounds the ball, gets into the open court, gets easy baskets and putbacks."

During its winning streak, Philadelphia has boasted six or more players with 10-plus points, and the win in Milwaukee marked the 10th such occasion overall.

Philadelphia (30-33) moved within one-half game of idle Washington for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Charlie Villaneuva scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter and Michael Redd netted 16 of his 19 in the first half for the Bucks, who struggled defensively. Philadelphia had 10 dunks.

"We haven't had a clue against Philly all year long, and today was more evidence of that," Redd said. "Give them credit, they played well."

The Bucks, who lost for the fifth time in six games, played without guard Mo Williams and forward Yi Jianlian for the third straight contest.

It also was a struggle for Bucks center Andrew Bogut, who managed one point and two rebounds. He did collect a season-high seven assists.

"(Philadelphia) is a team now that's won 11 of 14 or something, and you can see why," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "They play really hard. They attack. That level of athleticism is pretty impressive on their squad."