Philadelphia (5-19) at Boston (10-14) 8:00 pm EST
BOSTON (Ticker) -- Prior to a disappointing loss on Wednesday,
the Boston Celtics were playing their best basketball of the
season. They now will take on one of the worst teams in the
NBA.
The Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers, who have lost 12
straight games and continue on a downward spiral without
superstar Allen Iverson.
On Wednesday, Paul Pierce collected 27 points, eight rebounds
and five assists in a 96-95 loss to Golden State as the Celtics
had their season-high five-game winning streak snapped.
Pierce, who will be out at least two weeks with a stress
reaction in his left foot, had a chance to win the game but
attacked a triple-team and was tied up with less than one second
remaining.
On Tuesday, the 76ers traded Iverson, a four-time scoring
champion and the face of their franchise. Along with
little-used forward Ivan McFarlin, Iverson was sent to the
Denver Nuggets for guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith and two
2007 first-round picks.
Without its primary option for most of the skid, Philadelphia
has lost 12 in a row and is entangled in the seventh-longest
losing streak in franchise history and the longest slide since
1996-97, when they dropped 13 games in a row during Iverson's
rookie campaign.
Kyle Korver and Andre Iguodala scored 20 points apiece and
Samuel Dalembert chipped in 16 and 13 rebounds for the Sixers,
who dropped a 101-93 decision vs. Indiana on Wednesday.