76ers stem road losing streak in New Orleans, 99-88
Philadelphia 76ers guard Sergio Rodriguez (14) celebrates with forward Dario Saric (9) in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. AP
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana—Ersan Ilyasova sat in one locker room, both feet in ice buckets as he soaked in the afterglow of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first road victory in nearly 11 months.
Down the hall, Pelicans forward Anthony Davis sat in his locker, a black hood pulled up over his head, staring at nothing and clearly conveying his disgust without saying much at all.
New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry had a little more to say, even uttering an expletive in response to a question about his job status.
Ilyasova scored 23 points, Sergio Rodriguez added 16, and the 76ers snapped a franchise record-tying 23-game road losing streak, beating reeling New Orleans 99-88 on Thursday night.
The victory was a gratifying one for Philadelphia coach Brett Brown, who contends his team has been improving, only to come up short in close games.
“We’ve been trending that way,” Brown said. “We just haven’t had a win to validate it.”
The Pelicans became the first team to lose at home to the Sixers (5-18) since last season, when Orlando fell to Philadelphia on Jan. 20. The loss marked a new low for New Orleans (7-16), which was already off to a rough start.
When asked if he was concerned about keeping his job, Gentry responded, “I don’t really give a (expletive) about my job status. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to coach until the day they tell me I’m not the coach anymore. … That is not anything I spend five seconds worrying about.”
Davis, who finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, offered only terse answers to questions, including a “yes,” when as if he was more frustrated than at any point in his four-plus NBA seasons.
“We’re just not playing right,” Davis said. “We need to figure out something.”
Asked for his thoughts on what the Pelicans might change, Davis said, “play harder.” He also said he thinks Gentry is “doing fine.”
Langston Galloway added 19 points for New Orleans, but the Pelicans made only 12 of 40 shots during the second half en route to a fourth-straight loss and sixth loss in seven.
Joel Embiid had 14 points and blocked four shots to go with three steals for Philadelphia, which arrived in New Orleans on an eight-game skid and had lost all seven of its previous road games this season.
Dario Saric highlighted his 13-point night by scoring eight straight Sixers points on an 8-foot floater, a layup while he was fouled and 3-pointer to help Philadelphia quickly turn a tenuous 85-82 lead into a 10-point advantage with 3:50 left.
“We have to learn how to finish games. We’re moving the right way as far as the learning process,” Ilyasova said. “This game, we tried to focus ourselves as far as being precise, not turn the ball over and be smart offensively.”
