Holiday, Young lead 76ers past Bobcats
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jrue Holiday had 20 points and six assists as the first-place Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 105-80 on Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak and sweep the three-game season series between the teams.
Holiday, coming off a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s night loss at Chicago, was 8-of-13 shooting from the field and made all four shots from the free-throw line.
Doug Collins said before the game the key to snapping the losing skid was to get a more balanced scoring attack from his players and he got just that.
Thaddeus Young also had 20 points and Louis Williams chipped in with 19 for the 76ers.
Philadelphia also got a solid effort from Elton Brand, who scored eight of his 16 points in a pivotal third quarter as the 76ers outscored the Bobcats 30-19 to break open a two-point game.
The 76ers outrebounded the Bobcats 51-31 behind 11 boards from Spencer Hawes.
Gerald Henderson had 14 points for the Bobcats, who failed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Bobcats shot 49 percent in the first half to stay close despite the absence of Corey Maggette, who sat out with a back injury.
However, things fell apart in the third quarter for the Bobcats — just as they’ve done so often this season — and they were held to 6-of-22 shooting, allowing the 76ers to seize momentum of the game.
The Bobcats seemed disinterested at times in the third quarter and the 76ers pushed the lead to 24 down the stretch and the outcome of the game was never in question in the second half.
The 76ers came in with the NBA’s best defense, holding opponents to an average of 87.8 points per game and 41.8 percent shooting from the field. The Bobcats finished the game shooting 39 percent from the field.
After an evenly played first half, the 76ers took a 46-44 lead into the locker room after Thaddeus Young tipped in a shot with 1 second left. Holiday and Young were big in the first half for the 76ers, combining for 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
The Bobcats (7-37) remain the only team in the league that hasn’t won 10 games this season.
Cavaliers 105, Nets 100
NEWARK, N.J. — Tristan Thompson scored a career-high 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and gave Cleveland the lead with a tip-in with 1:11 to play, leading the Cavaliers to a victory over the New Jersey Nets.
Fellow rookie Kyrie Irving added 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak and sent the Nets to their third straight loss.
Newcomer Gerald Wallace had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead New Jersey. Deron Williams added 28 points, but threw the ball away with roughly 16 seconds to play when he passed up a 3-point attempt to make a pass underneath with New Jersey down 103-100.
Irving, who scored the Cavaliers’ final six points, was fouled after the turnover and pushed the lead to five.
Celtics 79, Hawks 76
ATLANTA — Ray Allen hit two 3-pointers in Boston’s 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and protected the lead with two free throws in the final seconds as the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics led 73-58 at the end of the run. Joe Johnson, who had 25 points, had three late 3-pointers as the Hawks rallied. Johnson’s 3 with 11.8 seconds remaining cut the lead to 77-76.
