Willie Green admitted he was starting to wonder a little bit. The 76ers' starting two guard was in the midst of his worst shooting stretch this season, having made just 13 of his last 64 shots, including 1-of-19 on 3-point attempts, going into Tuesday's 108-99 win over the Nets.
"The funny part about it is I haven't been in a stretch like this all year," Green said. "To be going through it now it a little funny. That's the way basketball is. You've just got to fight through it." The normal recipe for breaking out of such a funk is to work harder in practice and try to hit a few easy baskets in games, with the idea that it could get you back on track. Green was doing the former, having taken an extra 300 jump shots before practice Monday. As for getting to the rim more, that hadn't been a problem -- it was making all the shots from 5 feet and in.
"The last six or seven games, I've probably missed 15 or 20 layups," Green said. "I have to concentrate on making layups and little floaters when I get to the basket."
Green hit 7-of-13 shots in the New Jersey victory, which he hopes put an end to his shooting woes.
Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said he just wants Green to keep doing what he's been, particularly on defense.
"You just have to work your way out of it," Cheeks said. "A lot of times, offense can dictate the way you play. We've put him on a lot of good offensive players and he's fared pretty well guarding those guys. In his case, he hasn't been affected by it on the defensive end."
SIXERS 108, NETS 99: Philly moved closer to nailing down a playoff berth Tuesday with the road victory.
The Sixers (38-37) broke open a two-point game with a 9-2 run down the stretch, which featured seven points by Lou Williams and an alley-oop dunk by Samuel Dalembert.
Andre Miller (24 points, 11 assists), Andre Iguodala (17 points, 10 assists) and Dalembert (15 points, 13 rebounds) gave the Sixers three players with double-doubles. Miller and Iguodala combined for 21 assists and two turnovers.
Willie Green chipped in 16 points and Williams had 13. While Miller scored 10 of the Sixers' 30 fourth-quarter points, the reserves had 18.
"This was an emotional game because we lost a game we could have won (Sunday in Cleveland)," said Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks. "You could see the players really wanted this game."
The Sixers remained seventh in the Eastern Conference, one-half game behind the No. 6 Raptors and No. 5 Wizards.
The Sixers visit Atlanta Friday and host the Hawks Saturday.
