25 Dec 10 Cavaliers vs. 76ers: Triumph of the Meeks as Philadelphia Topples Cleveland

Sixers guard Jodie Meeks takes a break from his hot shooting to talk it over with the official.Marc Serota/Getty ImagesA win over the King-less Cleveland Cavaliers isn exactly putting the NBA on notice, but the Philadelphia 76ers and blossoming young guard Jodie Meeks will take it.A balanced team effort saw the Sixers take control in the first quarter and never look back. They led by nine after the first quarter and 14 at the break on their way to a trouble-free 117-97 win.Seven Sixers scored in double figures, led by Thaddeus Young 26 off the bench. Buffalo Bills jersey
Meeks contributed again with 16 points, including 4-of-9 three-point shooting, following up on his eye-opening 26-point performance against the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night.On Saturday, Meeks scored 20 points in the first quarter, knocking down seven three-pointers in the game. He hit 21-of-44 three-pointers on the season, a .477 percent clip, well above his career average of .358. The 23-year-old out of Kentucky, acquired last season from the Milwaukee Bucks in an at-the-time barely noticed trade for Primo Brezec, Royal Ivey and a 2010 second-round draft pick, has replaced No. 2-overall pick Evan Turner in the starting lineup.He may be earning himself a longer look on a young team still searching for the right combinations.Off the bench, Turner scored only two points in 15 minutes, but Young shot a scorching 11-of-12 from field-goal range, finishing with 26 points to go along with his 11 rebounds. And don tell Young that a victory against this woebegone Cleveland team was meaningless.It's very refreshing, Young said. Any time we can go out there and get four out of five victories, it's big for the team. We need those wins that help us make a push for the playoffs and help get us in the mix for things.Laughers have been hard to come by in the Sixers now 7-14 campaign, Carolina Panthers jersey
but after starting the season 3-13, the Sixers have won four of their last five, including five in a row at the suddenly friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center.The Sixers controlled the glass all night, winning the rebound battle 44 to 29. When the 7-14 Cavaliers lose, they lose big, having lost by 20 points or more six teams already this season. And they now lost five in a row, all by double figures, including their drubbing last week at the hands of LeBron James and his Miami Heat.J.J. Hickson team-high 18 points weren enough, and Mo Williams contributed 15 points and seven assists on a night when the overmatched Cavaliers gave a less-than-inspiring effort.We're getting beat off the dribble like we're not even there, Cavs coach Byron Scott said. Pride has to come into it. Guys go right down the lane for easy layups and nobody seems upset by it. Everybody has to do a lot of soul-searching."The Sixers, who were able to avenge two November losses to the Cavs, probably wish they played Cleveland every night. But their home winning streak will be put to the test when the Boston Celtics come to town Thursday night, and the New Orleans Hornets arrive for a Sunday afternoon contest.They may have only won one-third of their games, but the Sixers have been competitive. They lost four games by five points or less. Doug Collins is mixing and matching his parts, trying to find a mix that delivers victories on the potential inherent in his athletic, young team.Time will tell if he found a winning combination on a team that been perennially Chicago Bears jersey
filled with question marks. And the Sixers can play teams as moribund as the Cavaliers every night.But the Eastern Conference is flabby;the Sixers are, amazingly, only one game out of the No. 8 spot;and if players like Meeks keep stepping up and surprising people, that playoff gleam in Young eye might not seem so far-fetched