"There was a little excitement, a tangible bounce in the building Thursday night. And, that was before the game. Then, when Andre Iguodala hit a running shot with six seconds left to give the Sixers a one-point lead over the Eastern Conference leading Celtics, the Wells Fargo Center shook enough to knock down the Spectrum next door. Now, the juice flowing in the building wasn't like the electricity of Wilt vs. Russell at the old smoke-filled Convention Hall, or Dr. J vs. Bird at the soon-to-be-gone Spectrum, but a big-time buzz was definitely back at a Sixers' game. This feel of pro basketball being meaningful again in Philadelphia couldn't be erased, even when Kevin Garnett dropped in an ally-oop with one second left to deal the Sixers a disheartening 102-101 loss. "We've come a long way to go toe-to-toe with the Celtics," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. Indeed, basketball was back in South Philly. The excitement was good to see, good to feel. Of course, the nights of the great Sixers-Celtics rivalry, when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell staged epic big-men duels in the 1960s, or when Julius Erving and Larry Bird treated the fans to elegant battles in the 1980s, are as far away as Allen Iverson is playing in Turkey. But, that's OK. There is reason to watch the Sixers play again. There were 17,948 fans who saw -- and felt -- something they hadn't seen -- or felt -- in too long around here. They saw -- and felt -- a game with meaning. "We showed we can compete with the NBA's best; it would've been great if we could've won it for them," Sixers forward Elton Brand said of the pumped-up fans. "We just have to keep getting better." The way the Sixers started out the Collins Coaching Era with four straight losses, a meaningful game before Christmas of next year seemed to be as much wishful thinking as hoping Santa would deliver an NBA title this season. But, here it was, a game that began with meaning and ended up memorable. You can thank your Sixers for making this happen because Boston has been doing its part by being really good for a few years now under coach Doc Rivers." Read more: http://www.courierpostonline.com/ar...100323/Sixers-bring-excitement-back-to-Philly
