Iguodala Celebrates Birthday With Win And Triple-Double

Andre Iguodala celebrated his 28th birthday in exciting fashion as he recorded his eigth career triple-double and was the force behind the Sixers 95-74 win over the Detroit Pistons. Iguodala recorded the easiest triple-double possible as he had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the win over the Pistons. The Sixers got out to an early 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back leading the whole way on their way to their 8th 20 or more point victory of the season. The Sixers were once again led in the scoring column by Lou Williams who had 17 points. The Pistons were led by Greg Monroe who had a double-double with 16 points (on 19 shots) and 10 rebounds. More notes on the game:

Evan Turner looked great last night scoring 12 points on just eight shots, while also helping out by getting six rebounds and three assists. One thing that continues to impress me with Turner is his ability to rebound the basketball. He has the potential to average eight or nine rebounds a game if he got the minutes to do so. Even though he is not a starter and is not playing as much as many would like, he is statistically leading all wing players in rebounds per game with 6.2.

Although it was of the "pathetic" variety, a triple-double is a triple-double and Iguodala continues to make his case for a spot on the All Star team with his play this season. He has led the Sixers to a 14-6 record and fills up the stat sheet every night for the Sixers. His averages per game now stand at 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Even though those don't jump out at you and shout All Star, I honestly believe he deserves a spot on the team with the way he has played this season.

Lavoy Allen is really making his minutes count when he gets in there. Last night he logged 24 minutes and once again impressed scoring seven points on 3-6 shooting and grabbing four boards in his short run. He also had the highest +/- on the team with a +26. It is crazy that a guy who was not even playing the first half of the season has played so well the last week or so and is now a guy the Sixers can go to off the bench and give the team some minutes at the forward position.

Lou continues to be the Sixers most consistent scorer every night and also continues to lead the Sixers in scoring at 15.6 points per game. This is a pretty remarkable number considering he only averages 25 minutes a game. The only player that averages more points than Williams in fewer minutes played is Manu Ginobili of the Spurs, who has done it in a smaller sample size considering he's only played five games.

The Sixers defense in this one was too good not to note. They stifled the Pistons and forced them to shoot a dismal 35 % from the field. They also forced ten turnovers and held arguably their two best players in Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe to horrendous shooting performances. Knight was 4-17 from the field and Monroe was 6-19. Every big man that the Sixers brought in stopped Monroe in the post and forced him to take a lot of difficult shots. There is no question that the success the Sixers are having this season is due in large part to their defense.

Player of the Game: Andre Iguodala
Record: 14-6 (3rd in Eastern Conference)
Up Next: vs. Orlando Magic, Monday 7 p.m.