Sixers Notes: Sixers' Iguodala misses game against Warriors with tendinitis

OAKLAND, Calif. - The 76ers were without swingman

Andre Iguodala

for Monday night's 110-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Iguodala, who missed a handful of games earlier in the season because of tendinitis in his right Achilles, told Sixers coach Doug Collins about 90 minutes before tip-off that he would not be able to play.

"He just said he couldn't push off of it," Collins explained before the game. "He was sore [on Sunday] and he's been treated and he just came up to me and said he wasn't going to be able to go."

Collins said that Iguodala's tendinitis must have flared up during Sunday's 95-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.

"He was having some problems with his legs and that's why it was so important for us to win that game with him playing," Collins said. "And, hopefully, it will be day-to-day with him."

Monday night's game against the Warriors was the Sixers' second in as many nights, the team's fourth consecutive road game, and its second straight game without guard Lou Williams.

Against the Warriors, Collins was without Iguodala, Williams, and forward Jason Kapono, who strained his calf during Saturday's practice in Denver. Williams remained in Philadelphia for the birth of his daughter. He is expected to rejoin the team for Wednesday's game in Phoenix.

Williams' absence against Denver was felt in certain moments of the game, but was mostly concealed by the dynamic offensive play of forward Thaddeus Young (20 points) and a strong second quarter by rookie Evan Turner (eight points).

The game against Golden State was, on paper, the most winnable of the remaining four games of the road trip, which includes Wednesday's game at Phoenix, Friday's contest in Los Angeles against the Lakers, and Monday's game in New Orleans against the Hornets.

Against the Warriors, the Sixers were faced with limiting the scoring of guard Monta Ellis, the reigning Western Conference player of the week. Last week, Ellis averaged 39.7 points per game in helping the Warriors to wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.

Ellis finished with 22 points in the Warriors' victory.

"He's very quick and fast, so give him a step," Sixers guard Jodie Meeks said of the defensive matchup. "Everybody knows he can score. We know he's going to get as many shots as he wants, so we'll need the weak side helping out."

Meeks and second-year point guard Jrue Holiday were faced with limiting the impact of Ellis and second-year guard Stephen Curry, who returned from a right ankle sprain on Dec. 25.

Curry finished with 17 points.

Golden State's

Jeremy Lin

is the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese decent. Lin, a 6-3 guard out of Harvard, made a splash at the 2010 Vegas Summer League and then signed a partially-guaranteed contract with the Warriors. Entering Monday, he had appeared in 17 games for the Warriors, scoring a career-high 13 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. He was averaging 1.9 points and 1.1 steals a game.

- Kate Fagan

Monday night's Sixers game against the Warriors ended too late for this edition. For coverage, go to

www.philly.com

Next: Sixers

at Suns, Wednesday

at 9 p.m.

TV: CSN