<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font color=""Red"">With slightly more than a minute and a half left in the first quarter of last night's must-win matchup at the Meadowlands, the 76ers had already gone nine players deep. By halftime, the Sixers' reserves had outscored the New Jersey Nets' subs, 19-9.</font> <font color=""red"">The first-half work of reserves Steven Hunter, Willie Green, Kyle Korver and Matt Barnes helped stake the Sixers to a 67-46 lead. The Nets were buried before stepping onto the court for the third quarter.</font> So the expected shoot-out at the swamp turned into a Sixers laugher, a 116-96 romp at Continental Airlines Arena. <font color=""red"">The Sixers' bench outscored the Nets subs by 39-32, but the first-half effort was more telling because it put the game away.</font> "When our bench can come in and play like that, as long as the starters are playing well, then we can compete with anybody," said Green, who had eight points and played a season-high 21-plus minutes in his sixth game of the year. <font color=""red"">Green seems to be getting more confident each game since returning from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. "I think Willie has given us a major lift off the bench," Korver said. Last night's win followed Monday's effort, when the Sixers' bench outscored Washington's by 27-5 in a 105-97 win over the Wizards.</font> John Salmons, who had the unenviable task of chasing Vince Carter around the court last night, is in the starting lineup only because Kevin Ollie remains out with a strained right quadriceps. <font color=""red"">Korver in particular has been a spark off the bench. He scored 20 points in Monday's win and added 12 last night, including seven in the decisive first half.</font> <font color=""red"">The last few games, he has been getting open shots because the Sixers have been playing more of a transition game. "It all starts with getting stops, and when you do that you are able to run, and that gets you more open shots," Korver said.</font> <font color=""red"">Hunter, who had 20 points as a starter on Monday, came off the bench last night after Chris Webber returned to the lineup. Hunter had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and three rebounds.</font> <font color=""red"">"I think everybody is showing a sense of urgency in trying to make the final playoff spot," Hunter said.</font> The Sixers and Chicago Bulls are both 37-41 as they battle for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. <font color=""red"">"We have tough games down the stretch," said Allen Iverson. "Our bench is going to be very important."</font> </div> link: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14331018.htm wow! we have a bench?
