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Sixers and Wizards meet in Philly

Feb 23, 2011 - 4:20 PM (Sports Network) - Doug Collins had a fairly impressive first half of the season as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, but knows there's still more work to do for his initial year at the helm to be labeled a success.

Collins guided the fast-paced Sixers to a 27-29 mark before the All-Star break and hopes to get the second half of the 2010-11 campaign off to a good start with the Washington Wizards slated to visit Wells Fargo Center tonight. The 76ers will also host Detroit on the short residency and are 17-9 in the City of Brotherly Love. They began the season 1-4 as the host, but have gone an impressive 16-5 since.

Philadelphia went 2-1 on a three-game road trip before the break and recorded a 114-105 victory in Houston last Wednesday. Andre Iguodala had a triple- double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while Jrue Holiday finished with 20 points and eight assists for the 76ers, who matched their win total of all of last season (27-55) and won for the 10th time in 14 tries.

"Our guys are in great spirits entering the break," Collins said. "We are a good team and I tell them to remember that we are a good team."

Iguodala has five triple-doubles in his career and turned the trick against the Rockets for the first time since the 2006-07 season versus Seattle.

The Sixers have scored 100-plus points in seven of the past 10 games, and are 17-9 this season when reaching the century mark in points. They are 25-12 when holding opponents below 100 points and just 2-17 when giving up that many. Philadelphia is currently two games behind New York for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

Meanwhile, the Wizards will hit the road for back-to-back games in Philly and Miami, and have established a reputation for playing poorly as the guest with a less-than-stellar 1-26 record away from DC.

The Wizards captured their first road win of the season in Cleveland on Feb. 13 and proceeded to lose the next two games, including Tuesday's 113-96 home loss to the Indiana Pacers from the Verizon Center. Rookie John Wall led the way with 15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Andray Blatche had 21 points for Washington, which has lost three of four and 11 of its last 13.

"We are obviously struggling to win games right now," Wall said. "Then you get a blowout and it gets worse."

Nick Young missed last Wednesday's loss in Orlando with a knee injury, and returned last night to post 16 points in just over 32 minutes. Rashard Lewis had missed three games in a row with right knee tendinitis before playing 20 minutes versus Indiana, grabbing two rebounds with no points.

Washington and Philadelphia will close out their 2010-11 series tonight, as the Wizards own a 2-1 advantage so far. The Sixers ended a five-game losing streak in the set with a 109-97 triumph on Jan. 5 in south Philly, as Holiday and Lou Williams both finished with 26 points.

The Wizards have lost eight of 11 and 12 of its last 16 games as the visitor in this series.