(Sports Network) - Once again the Philadelphia 76ers will try to get a win in the Doug Collins era, as they hit the road for the first time this season tonight against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The 76ers had the luxury of hosting Miami's big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on Wednesday and dropped a 97-87 decision. Atlanta then headed to Wells Fargo Arena last night and escaped with a 104-101 victory thanks to Josh Smith's block on Andres Nocioni in the waning seconds.
Andre Iguodala led the way with a game-best 27 points and also grabbed 10 boards for the Sixers, who were outrebounded by a 46-36 margin. Elton Brand stepped up with 20 points and Lou Williams provided 16 points off the bench.
Philadelphia was able to cut a big deficit down three in the final quarter, but a first period run (20-7) by the Hawks set the tone.
"That's as athletic a team as you're going to face in the NBA," Collins said of the Hawks. "So our guys fought like crazy."
Philadelphia hasn't started 0-3 since the 2005-06 campaign and will pay a visit to rookie John Wall and the Wizards following the Indiana trip.
Indiana will celebrate its home opener tonight after splitting back-to-back road games in San Antonio and Charlotte to start the season.
In Friday's 104-101 victory over the Bobcats, Pacers star Danny Granger scored 33 points and Roy Hibbert provided 13 and eight boards. Tyler Hansbrough scored the final four points of the game and ended with 12 points.
"I'm glad I got the chance to come in there and step up and make some good plays," Hansbrough said. "Whenever the opportunity came I was going to step up and go out there and try to play my game and prove that I can help the team out a little bit."
The Pacers buried 12-of-29 three-pointers in the win.
Indiana won two of three meetings with Philadelphia last season and has won seven of the previous 10 games in the series. The Sixers have dropped five of their last eight visits to Conseco Fieldhouse.