• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Sixers down Rockets in OT

Nov 14, 2013 - 5:27 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Anderson had a career-high 36 points, while Tony Wroten added a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-117 overtime win over the Houston Rockets at Wells Fargo Center.

Jeremy Lin scored 34 points with 12 assists for Houston, with Dwight Howard finishing with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

With time winding down in regulation and the Sixers trailing 106-103, Wroten drove the lane but was blocked off by Howard and was forced to heave it towards half-court. Anderson outjumped Lin to the ball and proceeded to hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left to send it to an extra session.

Evan Turner then took over for Philadelphia, scoring eight of his 23 points in overtime to close out the win.

Playing without leading scorer James Harden, Houston took a 10-point lead at 90-80 into the final quarter.

The Rockets trailed by three at halftime, but opened up their biggest lead to that point when they opened the third quarter on a 15-4 run to take a 72-64 lead with 7:05 left in the period. Lin led the charge by hitting three 3- pointers during the spurt.

Houston pushed its lead to a game-high of 10 at the end of the third quarter when Chandler Parsons made a driving layup and Omri Casspi hit a 3-pointer with 34.9 seconds left.

With the Sixers trailing 100-91, Spencer Hawes hit his second consecutive 3- pointer and Anderson hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game with 4:36 remaining.

Casspi made a layup with 4:21 left in regulation, but Anderson answered once again with a 3-pointer in transition to pull Philadelphia within three at 102-99.

Hawes blocked Howard after a Houston timeout and Thaddeus Young connected on a turnaround hook shot to bring the Sixers within one with 2:14 left.

A frantic final 24 seconds helped the Rockets take a three-point lead before Anderson tied it up.

Young blocked Parsons with Houston up one, but Turner lost the ball and Patrick Beverley came up with the steal, was fouled, and converted both free throws to make it a 106-103 game with 18.2 seconds left.

Turner opened up the extra period with a smooth reverse layup to give the Sixers their first lead since halftime. Young was then fouled and made 1-of-2 to put the Sixers up 109-106 with 2:33 left in OT.

Howard answered at the other end when he made a layup from Parsons and was fouled on the play. A career 57.6 percent free throw shooter, Howard hit the clutch free throw to tie the game.

Turner then followed with a layup, but Lin tied a Wells Fargo Center record with his eighth 3-pointer of the game for a 112-111 Houston lead with 1:51 remaining.

Young, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, added two free throws at the 1:07 mark to regain the lead for Philadelphia.

Howard was the man down the stretch for Houston, hitting a running hook shot over Hawes with 49.9 seconds left as the see-saw battle continued.

Off a missed layup from Turner, Hawes came in and made the putback dunk over Howard for a 115-114 advantage with 34.9 seconds left.

After a Houston timeout, the Rockets ran isolation for Howard, who was double- teamed by Hawes and Young and coughed up the ball.

"We were trying to do too much," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said. "We couldn't maintain our (lead)."

Turner was then fouled and free throws sealed it for Philadelphia, which has now won five of its last six from Houston in the City of Brotherly Love.

The first half was more of the track meet that many expected when Houston, the fifth-ranked offensive team in the NBA played the last-ranked defensive team in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia, playing without rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams, led 60-57 after 24 minutes, with nine lead changes and 11 ties during the opening half.

Parsons scored 22 points with six rebounds for Houston, which travels to New York for a meeting with the Knicks on Thursday.

Hawes went 3-of-5 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

"That's kind of been our M.O. all year, get ourselves in a sticky situation and bail ourselves out," Hawes said. "We made really big plays in the clutch."

Game Notes

Wroten's triple-double was the first by a player making his first career start since 1970-71 ... Lin finished with nine 3-pointers to set a Wells Fargo Center record ... The Sixers have committed 13 turnovers and have had at least 15 turnovers in every game this season ... Philadelphia will hit the road for a three-game trip beginning in Atlanta on Friday.