Philadelphia, PA – Jrue Holiday totaled 30 points and nine assists to lead the slumping Philadelphia 76ers back into the win column with a 107-100 victory over the Houston Rockets at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers, mired in a 3-13 stretch coming in, avoided losing six straight by hitting 49 percent of their shots in a balanced scoring attack.
Thaddeus Young posted 18 points and 12 rebounds, Jason Richardson added 16 points while Evan Turner stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, seven boards and six assists for the victors.
"That was a terrific win for us tonight," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said. "Tonight was as good of leadership by our captains (Holiday, Young and Richardson) as I've had in the three years I've been here."
James Harden led four Rockets in double-figures with 29 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists. Chandler Parsons followed with 23 points, but had six of Houston's 17 turnovers in the club's third loss in four days.
Houston was on top, 20-9, with under five minutes left in the first quarter before the Sixers went on an 18-2 run and never trailed again.
Richardson and Dorell Wright each hit from long range during the surge, and Wright added a tip-in for a 27-22 cushion with 1:31 left in the frame.
It was a 29-25 game heading to the second, and Turner, after being held scoreless over the first 14-plus minutes, erupted for all 12 of his points before the break to help Philadelphia take a 58-50 advantage into the locker room.
The margin was as high as 14 after the hosts scored the first six points of the second half. The Rockets cut into the deficit thanks to an 11-of-13 effort from the foul line in the third quarter, but still trailed 85-76 entering the fourth.
An 11-3 flurry capped by Harden's nifty layup in traffic and subsequent free throw on a Spencer Hawes technical foul had Houston within 96-93 midway through the final stanza.
But Richardson made a jumper, Turner found Young for a dunk with an outlet pass and Young was credited with a tip-in to push the Sixers' lead to 102-93 with 2:18 remaining.
The Rockets missed four 3-pointer attempts the next time down and eventually went away empty-handed on their three-game road trip.
"Teams are getting out to good leads on us, we get back and then run out of energy," Harden said of the recent struggles.
Game Notes
Philadelphia is 15-0 when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season ... The Sixers won the rebounding battle, 43-42, for the first time in seven games ... The Sixers came in averaging just 87.3 points of their last eight games ... Harden has posted 20-plus points in a career-best 20 consecutive games ... Omer Asik and Carlos Delfino each scored 16 points for Houston, with Asik pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds ... Jeremy Lin made just 2-of-13 from the floor for seven points in the loss.
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