• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

76ers-Warriors Preview

Feb 22, 2010 - 9:26 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Philadelphia (21-34) at Golden State (16-39), 10:30 p.m. EDT

A December matchup with the Golden State Warriors allowed the Philadelphia 76ers to stop their longest losing streak since 2006-07.

The 76ers, who will be without Allen Iverson, hope their second meeting with the Warriors will help them rebound from their most lopsided defeat since that same season.

Philadelphia tries to snap a four-game slide in Oakland on Tuesday night as the Warriors go for their fourth win in five home games.

The 76ers (21-34) ended their first 12-game skid since Nov. 25-Dec. 20, 2006, with a 117-101 victory over Golden State on Dec. 14. Thaddeus Young had 26 points and 14 rebounds while Allen Iverson added 20 points.

Philadelphia, loser of three of four since a season-high five-game winning streak, will now be trying to get back on track after opening its four-game trip with a 122-90 loss to Chicago on Saturday.

The Sixers, who did not convert a field goal during an 8:14 stretch that bridged the second and third quarters, suffered their worst loss since a 124-74 defeat to Houston on March 18, 2007.

"We couldn't hit shots and we couldn't get stops," swingman Andre Iguodala said after scoring a team-high 23 points.

The Sixers won't have Iverson to help them do either Tuesday, as the veteran guard has left the team and is out indefinitely to spend time with his ill daughter.

Iverson will miss at least the remaining three games of the road trip. He missed five games and the All-Star game to be with his family when the health issue surfaced earlier this month, one that Sixers president Ed Stefanski calls a "very serious issue."

Without Iverson, Golden State's backcourt of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis could present an even more significant challenge for Philadelphia.

Curry and Ellis combined for 58 points as the Warriors (16-39) rallied from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Atlanta 108-104 on Sunday. The guards' production helped offset the absence of second-leading scorer Corey Maggette, who was sidelined with a strained left hamstring and is questionable for Tuesday.

"In the fourth quarter, you saw the defensive tenacity and that got us in transition a lot," Curry said after Golden State improved to 2-1 on its six-game homestand. "That's when we're at our best."

Curry, who scored 14 points, was the only Warriors starter in double figures Dec. 14 against Philadelphia. He has averaged 26.3 points and shot 12 of 24 from 3-point range as the Warriors have won three of four at home.

Golden State has beaten Philadelphia four times in a row at home since a 112-104 defeat Jan. 3, 2005, when Iverson scored 29 for the 76ers. The veteran guard will be playing his first game in Oakland in a Sixers uniform since then.

Playing for Memphis, Iverson had 18 points and seven assists in a 113-105 road loss to Golden State on Nov. 4.

Philadelphia rookie guard Jrue Holiday, averaging 6.0 points while starting the last 14 games, scored a season high-tying 15 points with seven rebounds and six assists Dec. 14.

In the teams' last meeting at Oracle Arena, Ellis scored 21 in a 119-111 win March 20.

Young led seven 76ers in double figures with 23 points, while teammate Samuel Dalembert had 15 points and a career-high 23 rebounds.

Golden State has won seven of eight at home in the series.