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The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night — no longer the NBA's pushover — 104-98, their third straight win to push their record to 10-6. Evan Turner played one of his best games of the season, scoring 25 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and not turning the ball over once. Jrue Holiday continued his torrid play with 13 points and 15 assists and Jason Richardson had 22 points on 9-17 shooting.
The Sixers didn't make up any ground on the Nets and Knicks, however. The Nets went on the road and, starting Andray Blatche in place of an injured Brook Lopez, defeated the Orlando Magic 98-86. The Nets were paced by Joe Johnson, who netted 22, and Gerald Wallace, who scored 20 points on just 9 attempts.
The New York Knicks stopped the Washington Wizards' one-game winning streak, taking it to the league's worst team at Madison Square Garden, 107-86. J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony scored 20 apiece to lead the Knickerbockers, who started Anthony at small forward for, if not the first time, one of the first times this season. Kurt Thomas started at power forward, but played just seven minutes.
The Celtics and Raptors didn't let the Sixers pull ahead of them for third place either. Playing without Rajon Rondo, the Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers 96-78, led by his replacement Jason Terry's 17 points. The Raptors beat the Phoenix Suns, who might be the coldest team in the league, 101-97. DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 23 points.