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76ers-Pacers Preview

Jan 23, 2010 - 5:54 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Philadelphia (13-28) at Indiana (14-28), 7:00 p.m. EDT

A revamped lineup appears to have given the Philadelphia 76ers some new life.

After an impressive victory over one of the best teams in the league, the 76ers look to win back-to-back games for only the fourth time this season Saturday night in the opener of a home-and-home series with the Indiana Pacers.

With his team in need of a spark, Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan decided to make some changes to his starting lineup prior to Friday's game against Southwest Division-leading Dallas. He moved Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams to the bench in favor of Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday.

Brand and Holiday made an immediate impact, scoring Philadelphia's first eight points, and Young and Williams came up with solid performances off the bench to lead the team to a 92-81 win. Young, one of three Sixers to start all 41 games prior to Friday, scored a game-high 22 points. Williams, who came off the bench for only the third time this season, finished with 11.

Young was 9 of 12 from the floor and provided the energy and scoring off the bench the Sixers (14-28) have missed all season.

"That was just me going out there and playing my game and not worrying about everything else," Young said.

Jordan said he's sticking with his lineup and treating the final 10 games before the All-Star break like a mini-playoff. Although Young isn't thrilled about his demotion, he feels that if it helps to team inch closer to a playoff spot, he'll be satisfied.

"If we're winning, I'm fine. If we're losing, then I'm unhappy," Young said. "Very unhappy."

Philadelphia also proved it doesn't need to rely on the scoring of Allen Iverson.

The 34-year-old Iverson, who was controversially selected as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, finished with 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting Friday. It was the first time the Sixers won in seven games this season when Iverson scores less than 15 points.

Iverson hopes to bounce back in Philadelphia's first meeting of the season with the Pacers, a team they split their four-game series with in 2008-09.

Indiana (15-28) is coming off Friday's 105-93 win at Detroit, snapping a three-game skid. The Pacers limited the Pistons to just 1 of 9 shooting from 3-point range to hold their first opponent in nine games to fewer than 100 points.

Danny Granger led the way with his second consecutive 25-point game, while Brandon Rush scored a season-high 19.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien has been encouraged by Rush's play lately, as the second-year guard is averaging 12.4 points on 65.7 percent shooting in his last five games. He averaged 4.7 points on 27.0 percent shooting in his previous six.

"Brandon is starting to become very aggressive, and I'm pleased with the way he is playing," O'Brien said. "We're 6-6 now in 2010 and we are looking for some consistency."

The Pacers have had their best success in the new year at Conseco Fieldhouse, where they're 4-1 this month.