Watch CBS News

Brand Leads Sixers Over Hawks

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Elton Brand scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 95-90 comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

Andre Iguodala scored 18, and Brand had 10 rebounds to go with his 10-for-12 shooting.
Coming off a 21-point loss to lowly Washington on Friday that knocked them out of first place in the Atlantic Division and down to No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers earned a hard-fought win against a team ahead of them in the standings.

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 34 points and Joe Johnson had 15. The Hawks have lost three of four after winning four straight.

The 76ers pulled within a half-game of Boston in the Atlantic. They had been in first place — either alone or tied — since Dec. 28, but fell behind after losing six of nine. They're seeking their first division title since Allen Iverson led them to the NBA Finals in 2001.

Brand took over with Philadelphia trailing 68-62 in the fourth quarter. He scored eight points during an 11-4 run that put Philadelphia up 73-72. Brand had two three-point plays in that stretch. He hit another short jumper to extend the lead to 77-73, then had two key assists after getting double-teamed inside. Brand fed Jrue Holiday for a 3-pointer that made it 80-75, then found
Iguodala open for another 3 to increase the lead to 83-77.

Brand grabbed an offensive rebound, got fouled driving to the basket and made a free throw. He got another offensive rebound off his miss on the second attempt, and Philadelphia led the rest of the way.

After the Hawks got within 88-86 on Marvin Williams' 3, Brand nailed a 14-footer to give the Sixers a 4-point cushion with 1:30 left.

The Sixers are 9-14 after a 20-9 start. They haven't had a winning record since the 2004-05 season.

Atlanta is one game up on Philadelphia for the sixth spot in the East.

Down 39-34 in the second quarter, the Sixers finished with a 9-2 run to take a 43-41 lead into halftime. Iguodala hit a 3-pointer to start it off and ended the run with a turnaround jumper.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.