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Another one of those games where the Hornets dig themselves a double-digit hole but come back to make it tight down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, they were able to stop the Sixers for stretches and they were able to score for stretches, but unfortunately those two facets didn't overlap enough for the Hornets to pull it out.

94-101 the final. Here's your boxscore.

Sixers fastbreak

Philly feasted on defensive boards, quick outlets and fastbreaks. They made the most of Hornets misses and turnovers, running the ball hard and getting easy baskets at the other end. They finished with 23 fastbreak points (the Hornets had 10), but also picked up plenty of points at the free throw line due to the Hornets frequently fouling them on the run.

On the season, the Sixers average 18 fastbreak points per game, second in the league only to the Warriors. They're built well to run with horses like Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala. Last game against the Hornets they had a 23-11 edge on the break.

Hornets slow-starting offense

While the Sixers were finishing many of their offensive trips within seven seconds, the Hornets seemed to be painfully slow at getting into their halfcourt sets tonight. Granted, they're not usually speedy in that regard even when Chris Paul's healthy, but it was remarkable how many times the ball had yet to be moved inside the three-point line and the shot clock hitting single digits.

A lot of that was probably a consequence of the Hornets trying to run more off-ball screens and get guys like Peja cutting through the lane while Darren Collison waited out high for someone to come open. That may actually be good in the long run, since the Hornets could always do with more variation and balance in the offense. Tonight though, they probably would have been better served falling back to the pick and roll game more and letting Collison cause some havoc in the lane.

David West

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The Hornets (26-23) are looking to put an end to their three-game home losing streak tonight as they host the Philadelphia 76ers at the Arena. Our guys will be freshly decked out in their Mardi Gras unis for the first time this season. Game tips at 7 Central.

Already down Chris Paul (who had successful surgery yesterday - yay), the Hornets will also be without Marcus Thornton tonight. Morris Peterson is expected to step into the starting shooting guard spot. Earlier today the team signed Jason Hart to a 10-day contract to provide some relief for Darren Collison at point guard.

The Sixers are 17-31 on the season, 9-15 on the road and are coming off Wednesday's overtime win against the Bulls. Andre Iguodala is a hot name in trade rumors right now, but that doesn't seem to be affecting his play (25, 8 and 8 vs. Chicago).

The Hornets played in Philadelphia on January 11, losing to the Sixers 92-96. Emeka Okafor led the Hornets with 20 and 11 in that one, while Iguodala and Elton Brand scored 18 apiece for Philly.

Numbers:

Pace: Sixers 93.7 (24th), Hornets 94.3 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Sixers 103.0 (20th), Hornets 104.8 (14th)
Defensive Efficiency: Sixers 105.8 (20th), Hornets 105.6 (19th)

The Sixers will be without Allen Iverson tonight due to a family illness. Willie Green will start in his place for the second straight game. Meanwhile, Samuel Dalembert didn't practice yesterday due to a sore back, but he does expect to play against the Hornets.

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Darren Collison: Inside the Numbers
  
• Rival bloggers: Depressed Fan | Liberty Ballers | Philadunkia (THN)

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Bobby Jackson. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

Sometimes, you just have to make your shots.  The Hornets outrebounded the Sixers by 8, including a 10-offensive rebound advantage, they matched them in turnovers, and fouled less often than them.

The Hornets even finished well on the 31 shots they took at the rim, an unusually high number for them.  It was their bread and butter, however, that let them down.  From midrange, where the Hornets usually hit at a solid rate, the guys went 6-33.  18% shooting on more than a third of your shots.  That's hard to overcome.  Tonight, a lot of that bad shooting rests with the Hornet's starting forwards.

Peja Stojakovic & David West

The Hornets opened the game fixated on getting Stojakovic rolling.  In the first quarter, the Hornets had him as the primary option eight times on a series of eleven plays.  Surprisingly, when he put the ball on the floor, good things happened.  When he flared off a pick, caught and shot, the results were bad.  Honestly, that's always seemed to be the case with Peja.  I'm not sure he's the best shooter off a hard-charging flare.  If he can set his feet or step into his shot, it's gold, but if he's moving sideways at all, things usually end up badly. 

I do wish he'd honestly tried to hit that shot at the end of the game, rather than flailing and hoping for a foul.

West, on the other hand, had his usual difficulty with a quick forward almost his own height, as Thaddeus Young made it hard for him to turn, face, and drive.  As a result, he settled for too many mid-range set shots, and his forays into the paint too often resulted in kickouts that gained no advantage.  Twice the Hornets ran successful cross picks in the paint for him that resulted in him receiving the ball with a foot in the lane.  On both, he made one move and scored.  When they tried running it later in the game, the Sixers perimeter players kept shading down on him, making it hard to get the entry pass angle right.  In the end, West did battle hard on the boards and grab 13, but the 6-17 shooting with 2 free throws was painful.

Marcus Thornton

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The Hornets roll into Philadelphia this evening, searching their souls for a way to beat the 11-25 Sixers sans Hilton Armstrong.

The Sixers have split their last six games. On Saturday they dealt the Pistons their 12th straight loss, and have had impressive wins against the Nuggets and Blazers in recent weeks. All those victories came on the road, where Philly are 7-13 this season compared to just 4-12 in Philly.

Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert have been playing well for the Sixers, while Elton Brand returned from a stomach illness Saturday to drop 25 on the Pistons. Allen Iverson missed that game in Detroit due to arthritis in his knee, and is expected to be a game-time decision today. His play of late has been consistently erratic, as you'd expect.

Some numbers:

Pace: Sixers 91.4 (24th), Hornets 92.0 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Sixers 104.0 (16th), Hornets 103.7 (18th)
Defensive Efficiency: Sixers 107.9 (28th), Hornets 105.8 (20th)

The Hornets are riding an NBA-best six-game winning streak but have had to battle to the final minutes for all of them. Here's hoping they can take it to the next level this evening. Game tips at 6 Central.

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Nets-Hornets last play breakdown, plus a rumor that the Spurs offered Parker for Paul
  
• Rival bloggers: Depressed Fan | Liberty Ballers | Philadunkia (THN)
  

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Devin Brown. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

As has been their calling card of late, the Hornets once again blew a double-digit lead to an inferior opponent but managed to hang on for the win, beating the Sixers 98-91 in Philly this evening.

I'm a lot happier with this one than I have been with the other close games we've had recently. Never easy being the road team on the second game of a back to back, especially against a fast and athletic bunch like the Sixers.

Chalk it up as five straight W's for New Orleans, our longest such streak of the season.

Bullets:

• David West kept us afloat in an otherwise miserable first half, where the Hornets watched an early 13-point lead evaporate in a hurry. West was nothing short of unstoppable in the first quarter and had 22 points at the break. He mixed it up and got his scores in a variety of ways: drives, post-ups, jumpers, fade-aways. He cooled off considerably in the second, thanks to a more focused Philly defense. West would finish with 30 points (12-of-26 FGs), 10 boards and 5 assists. He's averaging 30, 10.8 and 3 in his past four games. And in case you hadn't heard, earlier today he was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.
  
  
• Our bench really hurt us in this one. Antonio Daniels and Julian Wright played just a handful of minutes at the start of the second quarter. Byron was forced to get his big guns back in there after a 7-point lead was whittled down to one. Daniels couldn't handle the extended defensive pressure the Sixers threw out there, being forced once to call a timeout in the backcourt and then getting away with a charge on Lou Williams in the same half of the floor. One referee called that a charge and Daniels barked at him to earn a tech, not realizing that another referee had overruled and called it as a blocking foul on Williams.
  
  
• I decided to mute the TV and listen to Sean Kelly and Gerry V call the game on the radio. There was a five-second delay between picture and sound, but that didn't bother me too much. Those guys actually analyze the game and make jokes that are funny. Very refreshing.

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