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76ers coach Dileo eyeing second straight win

Dec 17, 2008 - 11:18 AM Milwaukee (11-15) at Philadelphia (10-14), 7:00 pm EST

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Interim head coach Tony DiLeo hopes his second game goes as well as his first when the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

DiLeo picked up a win in his coaching debut as the Philadelphia 76ers got a big game from Elton Brand and dispatched the Washington Wizards, 104-89, on Saturday.

Brand scored 27 points and Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young combined for 31 off the bench for the 76ers, who snapped a three-game slide and topped 100 points for the first time since December 3.

"It was a big game for our sake with the coaching change, losing so many games in a row at home," Brand said. "There was a lot on the guys' mind. We had to have this victory."

DiLeo moved down to the bench from his assistant general manager's office earlier Saturday to replace Maurice Cheeks, who was fired after the team's 9-14 start. DiLeo will remain the boss on the bench until the end of the season.

"Coaching is like managing," DiLeo said. "I felt comfortable, especially with the assistants out there. Anytime I had a question they gave me great input. The game flew by to me and brought back a lot of feeling that I had when I was coaching."

Last season, Cheeks finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting after the Sixers overcame an 18-30 start to reach the postseason for the first time since 2004-05. Many expected the Sixers to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season after the club inked Brand to a five-year, $82 million contract.

The Bucks are searching for their third straight win after Andrew Bogut scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Monday's 98-83 victory over the Miami Heat.