Sixers fall to Celtics in final seconds

At halftime of the 76ers-Boston Celtics game Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, a tandem called Quick-Change entertained the crowd. Their gimmick is this: A man acts like a magician, waving a towel or curtain quickly over and around his female companion, as she changes outfits in the blink of an eye. Yellow dress goes to green gown, then to a red salsa dress.

Too many times this season, the Sixers have done a quick change late in ballgames. They'll play well enough to win, maybe even forge a big lead, only to morph into a team that is unrecognizable, blowing the lead and, ultimately, the game.

Thursday night, though, was different. The game was close throughout, and the Sixers never faltered, until the very end.

Trailing by a point with 6.6 seconds remaining, Boston got the ball in to Rajon Rondo, who calmly floated a pass to Kevin Garnett, who had posted Jrue Holiday on a defensive switch. Garnett deposited the winning layup with 1.4 seconds to go.

Celtics 102, Sixers 101.

Jodie Meeks led the Sixers with 21 points, while Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams had 16 each. Elton Brand had 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Andre Iguodala added 14 points and 11 assists, including the layup that had put the Sixers ahead before the Celtics' winning basket.

It was the ninth straight win for Boston, which improved to 18-4. The loss dropped the Sixers to 7-15. *

For more Sixers coverage, read the Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville.

Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/BobCooney76.