39 In the Fourth, Not Enough

The Sixers wasted a golden opportunity to end their skid tonight against a depleted Bulls team, not to mention an absolutely monstrous game from the Haitian Sensation. The Bulls picked up their 14th win of the year, while dropping the Sixers to their low-water mark of 9 games under .500, final score: 100-97.

Bleak isn't really the word for the Sixers' outlook at the moment. They now head out of town for a three-game trip in San Antonio, Houston and then Boston. Ouch.

Sam Dalembert was the beginning and the end of the story for the Sixers tonight. He finished the game 8/12 from the floor, 5/5 from the line for 21 points, blocked 2 shots and yanked down 20 rebounds (9 offensive). Say what you will about this team, their dismal record, their lack of offensive cohesion since the Korver trade, but they do play hard. After trailing by as many as 16 in fourth, they cut the deficit to 4 with a minute to go. Then a questionable call on a back-court violation that wasn't to be, opened the door for Nocioni to put the Bulls up 6. That was all she wrote.

The comeback was commendable, but honestly it should've never come to that. The Sixers blew the Bulls doors off in the first quarter, jumping out to a 25-7 lead. From that point until the beginning of the fourth, the Bulls outscored the Sixers 62-33.

Jason Smith and Thad Young both saw extended minutes, and Mo Cheeks went 10 deep in his rotation for the first time in a while. Even Rodney Carney sniffed the floor for 9 wholly unimpressive minutes.

The team has the weekend to rest up for a daunting trip to the Alamo, let's hope they come out and put together a full game of quality basketball, not just two quarters.

Player of The Game: Sammy
Team Record: 14-23