ATLANTA - The Philadelphia 76ers played their eighth game in 12 days on Wednesday night, and it showed.
Philadelphia wasted a hot start and lost 107-96 to the Atlanta Hawks, their 11th road loss in a row.
Philadelphia scored the game's first eight points but eventually trailed by as many as 19 in the first half.
"We were just a step behind," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "I just thought our whole team was sluggish. We were very fortunate to start the game. They weren't ready to roll. We were up 8-0, but I thought we should have been up 15-0."
The Sixers had one more run left in them, cutting the deficit to 66-63 in the third quarter, but the Hawks responded with a 25-7 spurt and the Sixers never got any closer than 10 in the final period.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 27 points, and Anthony Tolliver added a season-high 21. Al Horford had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
"They've got excellent 3-point shooting," Collins said. "Tolliver really hurt us tonight with his shooting."
Damien Wilkins led the Sixers with 21 points, while Dorell Wright had 20. But after the quick start, they quickly looked like the tired team, not surprising since they were coming off a loss at home to Boston the previous night.
"We tried to give it our all, especially at first," said the Sixers' Jrue Holiday, who had 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting. "Sometimes when fatigue kicks in, it's hard to concentrate, especially coming on a back-to-back like that. I think we just need some rest."
