NBA Playoffs 2011: Philadelphia Shows the Luv, but Sixers Cant Return the Favor

I had already stuck the fork in them. The fat lady had sung, and I was turning out the lights on another Philadelphia 76ers season.  

Then along came Game 3 back in Philadelphia where the sell-out crowd of 20,404 diehard Sixers fans created an atmosphere that hasn't been seen at the Wells Fargo Center in several years.

For those who don’t know, the Sixers and the fans have been using the slogan, “Show ya luv” which started as an inside joke between Lou Williams and Evan Turner, and has since blossomed into a citywide rallying cry for the team.

As a result, I found myself captivated by the energy in the building and the Sixers early play, which was enough to lure me back in. I cared again about the 76ers and I believed, that at least for one night, they could upset the juggernaut that is the Miami Heat.

The Sixers started out strong, much like Game 1, and the Heat struggled going 0-7 from the field to start, resulting in the 76ers holding a 29-21 lead after the first period. The crowd was fully behind the Sixers and mercilessly booed Lebron James every time he touched the ball.

In the second quarter the Heat start to come around a bit, but the Sixers continued to hold the lead with Elton Brand doing his fair share of scoring.

One stretch of play saw Andre Iguodala miss a wide-open three and the crowd murmuring boos. Then 10 seconds later he gets a defensive deflection and creates a fast break opportunity for Thaddeus Young, much to the delight of the crowd.

Later in the quarter, Iguodala passed up a wide-open three and drove the lane, only to throw up a floater that was an air-ball and resulted in a shot clock violation.The next time down the court he shot a contested three with 14 seconds left on the shot clock, which only frustrated fans more.

As the half came to a close, the Miami Heat began to show their superiority, but the Sixers managed to hold onto a slim 52-50 lead. The crowd was surprisingly quiet saluting the team going into the locker room, I don’t know if they were disappointed or just shocked that the Sixers were still leading.

The second half started with three straight buckets for the Heat, to remind all us hopeful Sixers fans of their dominance. But shockingly the 76ers came back with a 12-0 run of their own and all I could think of was Bill Pullman’s speech as the President in Independence Day, “We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight!!!”

The rest of the quarter was a real back and forth struggle, but after three quarters of play the 76ers again held a slim lead of 75-73.

But as the fourth quarter got going, so did the Miami Heat, and after a 9-2 run, they held their largest lead of the night at five, and the Sixers would never take the lead again.

The last few minutes of the game saw Iguodala take countless bad shots and miss them, while those boos that were once only murmurs became clearly audible.

He ended up shooting 3-10 from the field and only scoring 10 points, with Collins actually taking him out with five minutes left in the game.

It was only for a minute or two but I think it’s a statement that says more than my words even can.

Honestly, I feel bad for Iguodala because Sixers management forced him into the franchise role after Iverson left, even though he’s not built for it.

People get frustrated over the fact that they pay him so much money, but that’s not his fault, and from everything I've seen of the guy, he tries hard and wants to be the man, he just doesn't have the scoring ability those type of players possess.

With only 20 some seconds left in the game the Sixers miraculously found themselves trailing by only four points.

Iguodala dribbled the ball to the free throw line, jumped into the air without any real idea of what he was going to do, and dropped a pass off to Lou Williams who would miss the shot.

It was the perfect ending to exemplify what was a spirited, but ultimately frustrating game.

Now I can say without hesitation that I've accepted their eventual defeat to what is clearly a superior team. I'm looking forward to next year and hoping that the 76ers can make a change—any change—or else I fear they'll suffer the same result next year.