(AP)

At the start of the week, the 76ers bench featured never-healthy veteran Kwame Brown and one of the league’s worst returns from its collective of reserves.

Friday night, a funny thing happened: The Sixers actually got something from its second-stringers.

The Sixers’ bench pulled its weight in a 115-107 overtime victory over Milwaukee. The reserves accounted for 35 points on 14-for-25 shooting, to go with 18 rebounds and 12 assists. The group was led by undrafted wing Hollis Thompson, who shot 7-for-9 from the floor for 16 points in 21 minutes.

Thompson turned in two of the game’s finer plays: a second-quarter alley-oop dunk, off a pass from Tony Wroten, on which Thompson’s chin was at rim-level, and a 3-pointer in overtime that pushed the game out of the Bucks’ reach.

The contributions of the Sixers’ bench players were a far cry from what they’ve averaged coming into their game against Milwaukee. The Sixers’ second unit had been posting fewer than 16 points per game, the fifth-worst average in the league.

“Hollis had a big night,” said Evan Turner, who scored eight of the Sixers’ 13 points in overtime.

Other players chipping in off the bench were: Lavoy Allen (nine points, eight rebounds, 34 minutes), Elliot Williams (six points, 14 minutes) and Tony Wroten (six assists, 11 minutes).

Williams and Lorenzo Brown were signed Wednesday to replace Darius Morris and Kwame Brown, who were waived. Those two guards already appear to be upgrades, as Williams was a player without a contract anywhere and Brown was playing for Springfield (Mass.) in the D-League.

(AP)

76ers coach Brett Brown said he views rookie Nerlens Noel as a legitimate center, at least at one end of the floor.

Brown spoke briefly Thursday about Noel, the 6-11, 228-pound Kentucky product whose return date has yet to be determined. Noel, the sixth overall pick in June’s draft, is still rehabbing a surgically repaired left knee.

Noel’s name came up in a discussion about Spencer Hawes and how well the seventh-year forward looked Wednesday at the power forward position. Brown was asked whether Noel would be a player alongside Hawes could thrive, and whether Noel was a legitimate option at center.

“I think so,” Brown said. “I think that offensively, yes. Defensively, I see him being able to roam. I think because he’s so young and, at this stage, so thin that he may struggle initially with bigger types of players. Yes to your question. Could those two play next to each other? Yes they could.”

Brown has said he would consider this season a success for Noel even if the 19-year-old never saw the floor. The first-year coach has said he views Noel’s shooting form as “a total rebuild,” and Brown has invested hours of time into further developing Noel’s game. Routinely, the two work together after practices and in brief workouts prior to games. Thursday, after practice, Noel was tasked with fielding passes of all varieties from Brown with the use of one hand at a time. Wednesday in pregame, Noel was working on his one-handed shooting touch.

The Sixers (5-8) host Milwaukee (2-8) Friday.

(Associated Press)

MILWAUKEE --- At his locker, Royal Ivey had barely slung a shirt over his shoulder when he was asked for a moment to talk. Ivey knew what the inquiry was out, responding to a question that didn't need asking.

“I definitely should've called timeout,” Ivey said, after the 76ers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 94-92, Wednesday night.

With five seconds to go, in a two-point game, the Sixers' Jrue Holiday won a jumpball against Milwaukee's Luc Mbah a Moute – “I got up on that,” Holiday said – and the tip went to Ivey. Unsure what to do with it, Ivey said he tried to make a play.

Instead, Moute batted away the errant pass, chased it into Milwaukee territory and kept it inbounds long enough to allow time to expire.

“We had two timeouts left,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said sternly.

Here's how Ivey summed up those final seconds: “Honestly, we knew throughout the game, we had said we had three previously. Nobody was thinking call a timeout in that situation. The onus is on us in that situation to make that call. I got the ball. I definitely should've called timeout. I wasn't thinking that. I was thinking make a play, get somebody an open shot.”

By “somebody,” he meant Nick Young, Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Holiday. Those were the other guys on the floor at the time

Rather than burn one of the Sixers' remaining timeouts, allowing Collins to sub Ivey off the floor in favor of a more-offensive option – maybe Jeremy Pargo or Dorell Wright, both of whom can shoot the 3-ball – Ivey kept the play alive, but killed the Sixers' rally.

“I got the ball and they made a play on the ball,” said Ivey, an eight-year vet. “I was trying to get the ball to Spencer, and Luc shot the gap and got a hand on the ball, knocked it loose. That was it.”

Young referred to this one as “just one of those situations you wish you could have back.” That's a safe bet, considering where it left the Sixers (22-29) – four games back of eighth-place Milwaukee (26-25) for the final playoff spot in the East, heading into All-Star weekend.

(Associated Press)

Aside from the obvious, of heading into the All-Star break on a strong note, the Sixers need a win Wednesday at Milwaukee.

They know it. They expect the Bucks know it, too.

The Sixers (22-28) are looking for anything to help turn their attention from Monday's embarrassing 107-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, during which they were assaulted down low. It got so bad in that one for the Sixers, who were outscored in the paint, 48-26, that fans were booing Blake Griffin for choosing not to dunk.

Heading to Milwaukee – and coming out with a win – would do wonders for the Sixers, both in the standings and for their psyche. The Sixers, ninth in the Eastern Conference, trail the Bucks, who are eighth, for the final playoff spot.

“We can't look at this,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said of the loss to the Clippers. “There are going to be times when teams come in and play great. You have to say they played great.

“I said to the guys, 'We have to go to Milwaukee and we've got to be ready to play. Let's not check out for All-Star week. Let's go to Milwaukee and let's play. That's what we've got to do.'”

Added Jrue Holiday: “It's over with, really. Whatever happened, happened. We're definitely looking at Milwaukee.”

If you take the Sixers at their word, they're keying on the Bucks – not because the Clippers left a bad taste in their mouth, but because …

“That's a team we're chasing,” Nick Young said.

(Associated Press)

MILWAUKEE – Tuesday night, like a pot that's been on the stove too long, Doug Collins boiled over.

He vented his frustration, letting it all out in the moments following a 110-102 loss to the Bucks. He didn't hold anything back, either. The Sixers coach voiced his discontent with his team's penchant for starting slowly, argued that a lineup change would do his team no good, danced around calling his players individualistic and suggested that they'd be the same even if he wasn't the coach.

Yep, it got to that.

On slow starts dooming his team:
“First quarter. Again, first quarter. We let them get 28 to start out the game. It's a two-possession game in the fourth quarter and we turn it over three straight times. … But it's what I come to talk about every single night. It's unacceptable the way we're starting games. Unaceptable. We coaches have worked so hard to prepare these guys, and to come out and look up and see six points on the board, 5-for-20 shooting and the other team's up 10 or 12 every night? Every night.”

On neglecting team-first style:
“You've got to share the ball, you've got to help each other out, you've got to talk on defense. We're not good enough to do it by ourselves. We've got to do it collectively.”

On whether a lineup change would create a spark:
“I've got to have something coming off my bench. It's like rob Peter to pay Paul? Guys have got to play. Lavoy comes out and shoots the ball the first three times he touches it. How about moving the ball and go screen somebody?”

On giving up easy offensive rebounds to Milwaukee:
“As I've said, guys know what they're supposed to do. You know? Be it Phil Jackson or whoever you want to have to coach. It don't matter. It don't matter. Doesn't matter. They've got to play. They've got to play. They've got to compete.”

_______

My hope is that the Sixers' play -- which has resulted in 16 losses in 21 games -- won't cost Collins his job. There are far too many variables at play here.

For one, Andrew Bynum has yet to play and the team was designed around him, you know, playing. Second, they lost four straight without Jrue Holiday, during that four-game stretch he sat with a foot injury. Third, they had an eight-game roadtrip around the holidays, one no other team in the league embarked upon.

I'm not trying to make excuses, so pardon me if it sounds that way. I'm merely attempting to point out that the Sixers' performance isn't an indictment only on the coach. It's also circumstantial.

(Associated Press)

MILWAUKEE --- Remember when the Sixers were four games over .500? Remember when they were thought to be a challenger in the Atlantic Division, even without Andrew Bynum?

Yeah, about that...

The Sixers (17-24), who are at the Bradley Center tonight against the host Bucks, are at the midpoint of their season. Since they opened with a 10-6 mark, they've lost 18 of 25 and have slid into fourth place in their division ... and ninth in the Eastern Conference, on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

The good news is Bynum is feeling better and maybe (just maybe) he could be ready for the Sixers' return trip to Brew City, Feb. 13 against the Bucks, in the final game before the All-Star break. (Just an educated opinion, but that would give Bynum almost a full week before having to next take the floor for the Feb. 20 game at Minnesota. Might be desirable for a guy looking to test out his knees and see how they respond.)

The hope of Bynum's return isn't enough to keep the Sixers afloat, though. As Thad Young (pictured) put it yesterday, the Sixers failed to step up "when we needed to play big." That's what it's going to take in order to string together wins ... and assemble their first winning streak in nearly two months.

“These last two games (Jan. 18 vs. Toronto, Monday vs. San Antonio), it definitely showed that we're going out there paying attention, trying to make runs, and we're trying to focus in," Young said. "The effort was there. The focus was there. The concentration was there. Everyone's playing on the same page and at a high level. It's just about finishing games."

Fortunately for the Sixers, they get a chance tonight against the Bucks. And all they had to wait was 24 hours for a fresh slate.

(Associated Press)

Last night, Royal Ivey gave the Sixers 18 minutes off the bench, with five points, three rebounds and an assist. More importantly, Ivey gave them something that didn't show up in the box score.

Sixers coach Doug Collins turned to Ivey in the second half, hoping he'd help slow down Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings. There really wasn't any hindering Jennings' game, which took the form of a 33-point display in the Bucks' victory.

"I was reaching in the grab bag, trying to find anything I could to get us back in the game," Collins said.

“In the second half, we held them to 43 points. We picked up our defense. I think part of that was I put Royal Ivey in the game. And in a game like tonight, he has to play with his speed and quickness because he’s one of the few guys on our team that can guard somebody like a Jennings or a Monta Ellis because they’re just so fast"

In the preseason, it seemed as though rookie Maalik Wayns would run the Sixers' second-team offense. But Wayns struggled out of the gate and, ever since, his minutes have waned. So Collins has turned to Ivey off the bench, for sure-handed play and occasional scoring from a veteran. That's been especially desirable of late, with Jrue Holiday turning the ball over with regularity.

In any case, and in any role, Ivey wants to play...even if it means being tasked with slowing down a speedster like Jennings.

"Man, he’s a tough guard," Ivey said, "but that’s what I live for – trying to stop one of the better guards, one of the better perimeter players, one of the better point guards in the league. I look forward to those challenges. Hopefully I get another shot and hopefully I succeed. I’m looking forward to the next one."

(Associated Press)

Sam Dalembert and Brandon Jennings are not Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. And Monta Ellis is nowhere near Rajon Rondo.

Still, the point to be made is this: No matter who’s on the floor, the 76ers aren’t going to be “intimidated.” Those are Evan Turner’s words, not mine.

The other day, after the win at Boston, Turner told reporters he and the Sixers from a season ago would’ve coughed up their 106-100 win over the Celtics. He intimated that they would’ve found a way to lose, especially when a veteran Boston team began to close in on their once-14-point lead, in a hostile environment like a near-capacity Boston Garden.

Plain and simple – whether it’s tonight at home against Ellis, Jennings and Milwaukee or Wednesday night against winless Detroit or even rematches with the Celtics or the New York Knicks, the Sixers won’t play scared.

“We’re not intimidated. We want more,” Turner said. “We keep progressing. Every single game is important. We don’t walk out onto the court and go, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Paul Pierce,’ or ‘Oh my gosh, it’s LeBron,’ or ‘It’s Carmelo.’ You expect to win. That’s progressing.”

Big words from the third-year swingman, who had a solid three-game stretch to help the Sixers sweep a roadtrip of three games or more for the first time since 2003. Let's see if he and the Sixers can use his words as a springboard to further successes.