Sixers Use Late Run to Put Away Mavs

Momentum is always key to winning ball games. Basketball is a game of runs and the one with the longest and most runs will win the game.

I watched the 4th quarter of the game between the Mavs and 76ers and the game was virtually tied going into the last half of the quarter. The Mavs tired out while the 76ers used their younger legs to go on a late 12-1 run and take control of the game. Here are a few key offensive plays that broke the game open,



The Mavs were coming off a road loss to the Nets last night and you could tell that the Mavs were too exhausted in the 4th quater. It was evident in the way they played defense. They were late getting back in transition and you can see from the clips that the Mavs weren't moving their feet, the switches off the ball-screens were way too slow.

Even when Avery Johnson tried switching to a zone defense in the last few minutes to give his players a little rest, his players were called on a defensive 3 second and a technical foul-shot awarded. On offense, the Mavs were stagnant and it showed up in the number of offensive fouls.

The 76ers took advantage of the tired legs of the Mavs and never looked back. If your team has more depth and athleticism, you need to use it to your advantage. No matter what the score is at halftime, we always like to think that we will out-score our opponents in the second half because we're better conditioned and better athletes than the rest of the teams we play.

For a new video, take a look at Tom Crean's DVD on Winning Late Game Strategies. Coach Crean is the head coach at Marquette. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to talk about this and your favorite basketball topics.