2-buwan nang malas ang Philadelphia

HOUSTON – Matapos parisan ng Philadelphia 76ers ang NBA record sa kanilang ika-26 sunod na pagkatalo, isa sa kanilang pinakabatang player ang nagsalita ng malakas.

Nag-pep talk si Michael Carter-Williams, isa sa anim na rookies sa pinakabatang koponan ng NBA, pagkatapos pangunahan ni James Harden ang Houston Rockets sa 120-98 panalo sa  Philadelphia.

 â€œDuring the game a couple of guys had long faces ... and I found myself a little bit down,” sabi ni Carter-Williams, na may 10 assists. “I just don’t want anyone in this locker room feeling bad for themselves ... I think that’s really important that we don’t get down on ourselves and we just give up just because we have a certain amount of losses.

Natuwa naman si Philadelphia coach Brett Brown sa ipinakitang leadership ng 22-gulang na si Carter-Williams. “He never would have done that two months ago,” ani Brown. “He wouldn’t have done it two weeks ago. All these things, all these small wins we find along the way, that’s our road map this year. And life moves on. The group will stay together and we will finish this thing out together.”

Tumapos si Harden ng 26 points, 10 rebounds at 10 assists sa tatlong quarters sa kanyang ikalawang career triple-double sa pagkopo ng Houston ng ikalimang sunod na tagumpay.

“We did a great job of coming out tonight and taking care of business,” sabi pa ni Harden. “No matter what their record was, we knew they were going to come here and play hard.”

Nakasabay ang 76ers (15-57) sa kaagahan ng laro bago nagpakawala ang Rockets ng second-quarter run para makalayo tungo sa tagumpay.

Nakalapit ang Philadelphia ng isang laro sa Milwaukee para sa  pinakamasamang record ng liga.

Pinantayan naman ng Philadelphia ang 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers sa kanilang  NBA worst losing skid at puwede silang magtala ng bagong record sa laban kontra sa Detroit sa Sabado.