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Sixers defeat Nets, 102-86

Everybody chipped in Saturday night for the 76ers. There was point guard Jrue Holiday getting a team-high 20 points to go with 13 assists to tie his career-high. Swingman Andre Iguodala, in his fourth game back since missing time with an Achilles tendon injury, got the team out of the gate and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Elton Brand came through with a double-double, and the trio of Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, and Tony Battie combined for 37 points.

Jrue Hoilday led the Sixers with 20 points and 13 assists in the Sixers 102-86 win over the Nets. (Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)
Jrue Hoilday led the Sixers with 20 points and 13 assists in the Sixers 102-86 win over the Nets. (Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)Read more

Everybody chipped in Saturday night for the 76ers.

There was point guard Jrue Holiday getting a team-high 20 points to go with 13 assists to tie his career-high. Swingman Andre Iguodala, in his fourth game back since missing time with an Achilles tendon injury, got the team out of the gate and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Elton Brand came through with a double-double, and the trio of Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, and Tony Battie combined for 37 points.

It all added up to a 102-86 victory over the New Jersey Nets before 14,150 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

"We got so many contributions from so many guys, but ace of spades tonight was Jrue Holiday," said Sixers coach Doug Collins, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak and raised its record to 4-13. "He's growing every day. I can just see it."

Nets 7-footer Brook Lopez, who finished with 25 points, had 17 points at the break to give the Nets the lead by a basket. Going into the fourth period, the score was knotted at 66.

That was when the home team took over. Young scored three straight points to put the Sixers up for good. And Williams later converted a four-point play, draining a three from the left corner while being fouled by Lopez, then hitting the free throw. That gave the Sixers an 82-74 lead with under seven minutes to go.

"That's something I've been working on," Williams said of his four-point play.

The Sixers kept it going from there. The Nets dropped to 5-11.

"It feels good to get a lead in the fourth quarter and keep it," Iguodala said. "That's something we've been working on, and it happened for us tonight."

The Sixers scored the first seven points of the game. A short jumper by Evan Turner and a three by Iguodala was followed by a steal and dunk from Holiday that brought smiles to the faces of his teammates. It was the first of three baskets Holiday provided in the first five minutes.

Iguodala also got it going early. By the end of the first period, the 6-foot-6 swingman had nine points. But his effort was more than neutralized by Lopez, who scored 13 points during the first 12 minutes. First Brand and then Marreese Speights took on Lopez, who went to the free-throw line 10 times and made nine.

Without the production from Lopez, the Nets' 27-24 deficit after the opening quarter would have been larger, as no other New Jersey player had more than two points.

When the Sixers took the floor for the second period, Collins sent out a lineup of reserves Williams, Young, Jodie Meeks, Andres Nocioni, and Speights. With Lopez on the bench for the first 4 minutes, 45 seconds, the Sixers built a 39-30 advantage, but it was quickly erased when the Nets' big man returned.

The visitors went on an 11-0 run to go up by 41-39 with under five minutes to go in the half. Lopez had a follow dunk and a baseline jumper during the rally, and a jumper from the top of the key by guard Devin Harris gave the Nets their first lead of the game.

The Sixers were down by 48-44 before Turner scored the last points of the half with a hesitation move that drew a response from the crowd, and resulted in a layup with 53.8 seconds on the clock.

"There were no major adjustments we had to make, that was the good thing," Iguodala said. "We just had to correct some little things, and we knew we could come out and get this one."