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76ers-Bobcats Preview
Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Bobcats
- Philadelphia has won three straight, and four out of the last five, games against Charlotte. The average margin of victory during the 76ers' current win streak in this series is 17.0 PPG (97.3-80.3).
- The 76ers have scored 100 or more points in three straight games (2-1) after reaching the 100-point mark in just two of their first 12 games this season.
- At 7-7, the Bobcats have already equaled their total from last season (7-59, .106), when they broke the 1972-73 76ers' (9-73, .110) NBA record for the worst win percentage in a single season.
- Evan Turner is shooting 60.7 (17/28) percent in the second quarter, but just 39.6 (57/144) in all other quarters (including OT).
- Jrue Holiday is averaging 18.8 PPG and 8.6 APG while shooting 48.0 (36/75) percent in road games this season. He had 20 points and six assists in his last road game against the Bobcats (March 19, 2012).
- Ben Gordon had 26 points off the bench in Wednesday's loss to the Hawks. All seven of Gordon's field goals came from behind the arc. While it was the 12th time in his career that he has had at least seven three-pointers in a game, it was the first time in those 12 contests that all of his made field goals were from behind the arc.
By NOEY KUPCHAN
(AP) -- Though they may not be household names, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young are emerging as go-to guys for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Visiting Philadelphia tries for a third consecutive victory Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, who hope to avoid a sixth loss in seven meetings in this series.
The 76ers (9-6) entered this season surrounded by plenty of hype thanks to the addition of Andrew Bynum, but it's been Holiday, Turner and Young who've led the way with Bynum out indefinitely.
Holiday is averaging a career-high 18.5 points and the fourth-year guard ranks third in the league with 9.1 assists per game. Two nights after compiling a career-best 33 points and 13 assists in a 104-101 win over Phoenix, Holiday posted 18 and seven Tuesday as Philadelphia escaped with a 100-98 victory over Dallas.
"Jrue has been big for us. He's been huge," said Young, who leads the Sixers with a career-best 7.8 rebounds per game. "He's shown growth each and every year."
Turner and Young also came up big against the Mavericks, scoring 22 and 20 points, respectively, on a combined 15-of-26 shooting. Turner, who averaged 8.2 points over his first two seasons in the league, has recorded 13.5 per game in 2012-13 and 17.8 on 49.4 percent shooting over his last six contests.
"I think I'm getting more comfortable and calmed myself down a little bit, and just taking and making good shots and just playing hard," Turner said. "Right now I'm riding a wave and playing well and trying to be consistent. There are gonna be some off nights, but at the same time I just think being mentally confident will help out."
The 76ers should be confident against the Bobcats, having taken three straight in the series by an average of 17.0 points. Philadelphia had dropped 10 of 11 at Charlotte before winning its last two there, including a 105-80 victory March 19 behind 20 points each from Holiday and Young.
Coming off back-to-back losses, the Bobcats (7-7) return home looking to get back on track. Charlotte fell 114-69 at Oklahoma City on Monday - its most lopsided defeat in franchise history - then came up short 94-91 at Atlanta two nights later.
Ben Gordon went 7 for 10 from 3-point range against the Hawks and scored 20 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.
"I just tried to be aggressive and force the issue a little bit," Gordon said. "My teammates did a good job of finding me. That was pretty much it. It was a good night, but I much prefer to get the W."
Charlotte, which again has a chance to surpass its win total from last season, will likely need a more efficient effort from the field. The Bobcats are shooting 40.7 percent to rank 29th in the NBA and have been limited to 34.2 percent in their last two games.
They're 5-3 at home after going 4-29 in Charlotte in 2011-12. The Bobcats are giving up 96.1 points per game on their own court - significantly better than their road mark of 105.7.
The 76ers are allowing a league-low average of 87.4 points as the visiting team.
Updated November 29, 2012
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