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Marshall's late 3-pointer lifts Sixers to comeback win over Pistons

Dec 6, 2008 - 5:36 AM By Chuck Klonke PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia 76ers overcame the loss of their leading scorer and rebounder and the inspired play of a former teammate Friday night.

The Sixers, led by Louis Williams and Donyell Marshall, rallied in the fourth quarter and erased a 15-point deficit on the way to a 96-91 victory overt the Detroit Pistons.

Williams scored 14 of his 16 points in the final frame and Marshall - who was playing just his fourth game of the season and didn't step on the court until late in the third quarter - hit a 3-point bucket with 35 seconds left to put Philadelphia ahead to stay, 91-89.

"When (coach Maurice Cheeks) called my name, he said, 'Are you all right?' and everybody started laughing," Marshall said. "I said I was fine and he let me go in. I stumbled a couple of times, even when I was open, because I really didn't have my ground to get the shot up. Finally, at the end I was able to turn around and get my feet set."

Sixers forward Elton Brand did not make the trip to Detroit after sustaining a strained right hamstring in Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Brand is averaging 16.7 points and 10.0 rebounds this season.

Andre Miller led the Sixers with 19 points and Andre Iguodala added 14.

Allen Iverson, who played his first 11 seasons with the Sixers, scored 17 points and handed out seven assists, two short of his season high. Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 17 points.

Detroit held a 78-69 lead after a 3-pointer by Rasheed Wallace with just under eight minutes remaining in the game.

Philadelphia went on a 13-3 run and took an 82-80 lead with 2:56 to play on Marshall's 20-footer. Guards Andre Miller and Williams combined for nine points in the spurt.

"I was just letting the game come to me and I played with energy," Williams said. "When you're down, you try to create a spark when you come off the bench. That's something I focused on tonight and I was able to do it on the offensive end and the defensive end."

Philadelphia scored the last six points of the third quarter to slice Detroit's lead to 67-58.

"We knew we had to make one last push, so we tried to minimize (Detroit's lead) as much as we could going into the fourth quarter," Williams said. "We got it down to nine and just took it from there."

Iverson had a simple explanation for the Pistons' problems in the fourth quarter.

"We stopped making shots," he said. "During the rest of the game, we were making shots. Obviously, we were a little frustrated and let it carry over to the defensive end. We stopped making shots and they started making them."

Pistons head coach Michael Curry said that his team lacked discipline.

"We were undisciplined in keeping guys in front of us," Curry said. "We ball-watched on the weak side and guys cut behind us and got layups. They had Donyell Marshall out there helping spread out the floor. But we've got to be a disciplined team."

Detroit led by as many as 13 points in a first half and took a 48-38 edge into the half. Rodney Stuckey came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Hamilton added 11 points in the first half for Detroit.

A 13-2 run, sparked by four points apiece from Stuckey and Jason Maxiell, gave the Pistons a 42-29 lead with 3:39 left in the half Detroit's bench outscored Philadelphia's reserves, 17-5, in the second quarter. The Pistons also held a 24-14 advantage in points in the paint.

Cheeks said that the win, Philadelphia's second in seven games, was the most important so far.

"We needed a win, but I hope this isn't the biggest win," Cheeks said. "But so far, yes, because we needed a win. We just put it together, didn't give up and that's why we got the win."