Lavoy Allen

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -  When a road losing streak as long as the one endured by the 76ers is about to come to an end, usually strange happenings surround it. The game against Sacramento began with former King Spencer Hawes getting lustily booed, and ended with the light-scoring Sixers posting 117 points in a 117-103 victory, thus ending their 15-game road skid and improving to 27-42. The demonstrative crowd took out their anger on Hawes for his comments about the organization's impending move to Seattle.

FROM 32,000 FEET, HEADING TO LA - The news that has dominated the happenings of the 76ers the past couple of days has revolved around center Andrew Bynum and the revelation he underwent season-ending surgery on both knees Tuesday in New York (more on that later). As has been the case for much of the season, the primary focus of the team hasn't been what's happening on the court, but rather what is going on with the balky knees of the prized offseason acquisition and when or whether he would ever make his debut for his new team.

One of the reasons coaches choose their profession is that they are imbued with a tenacity that won't allow them to give up. That doggedness earned 76ers coach Doug Collins coach-of-the-year votes after he resurrected the Sixers from a 3-13 start to finish the 2010-11 regular season 41-41 before Miami eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs. That same tenacity was on display last season when the Sixers, following a 20-9 start, sputtered home, 15-22, the rest of the way. They reached the playoffs and eventually the second round only because they won four straight road games at the end of the season.

After the 76ers reached the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and made big additions to their roster in the offseason, the buzz began: This season was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era. The acquisition of Andrew Bynum in August sent reverberations through the city, starting with a packed news conference at the National Constitution Center. But it has been all downhill since. Out of the blue, Bynum showed up at the first day of training camp with an excuse note from the doctor detailing a knee injury that morphed into injuries to both knees.

AS SPENCER HAWES said a few days ago, these are the dog days of the NBA season with two more games, including Monday hosting Brooklyn, before the Sixers start the All-Star break. While minds start to wonder and bodies yearn for much-needed rest, coaches try to bleed any sort of energy from their team. Coach Doug Collins is looking to tap into newly signed guard Jeremy Pargo and starting center Lavoy Allen. Pargo, who torched the Sixers earlier this season for 28 points as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, played 29 minutes in Saturday's 87-76 win over the visiting Charlotte Bobcats and contributed 12 points and six assists.

REALLY GOOD teams, no matter the circumstance, rarely come out for a game and feel out their opponent. Instead, they begin with the attitude that they want to punch out the opposition. The Los Angeles Clippers, despite playing the last of their eight-game Grammy Awards road trip, began the game against the 76ers Monday as if they were late for a Katy Perry red-carpet appearance outside their Staples Center home. They ran roughshod over the Sixers from the opening tap, got to nearly every loose ball, wreaked havoc on the defensive end and headed back to the West Coast with a thorough, 107-90 win. "Lob City" made more than a few appearances with the usual suspects, Blake Griffin (20 points, nine rebounds)

The wiggle room the 76ers had last year heading into the all-star break is nonexistent this time around. A 20-9 start last season helped the Sixers survive a 15-22 finish that began with a momentum-killing five-game losing streak right before the break. They led the Atlantic Division at the all-star break last year. Before they reach the break this season, the fourth-place Sixers know the importance of games against the Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) and the Milwaukee Bucks (25-24)

IT WAS A PLAY Thaddeus Young has made countless times throughout his 6-year career. A loose ball was available near the 76ers' bench Monday, and Young went after it the way he always does, like a hungry dog going after a discarded piece of meat. With no regard for anything but the prize at hand, Young flung his body toward the ball and, after getting tangled with Orlando's Gustavo Ayon, writhed on the floor in obvious pain. He rolled onto his stomach and grabbed for his left hamstring, while pounding his right fist on the floor.

Give the 76ers coaches credit: The starting lineup was broken and it appears they may have taken the proper steps to fix it. Following the team's eighth loss in 10 games, coach Doug Collins stood in a hallway of the BMO Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Jan. 22 and bemoaned yet another lethargic start. There was no recovering from a beginning that saw the 76ers make just two of their first 16 field goal tries. Collins has come to refer to playing with this type of self-imposed handicap as "playing uphill.

THE PRIDE of the Cherry and White was evident even in an empty hallway in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center. Sixers forward Lavoy Allen was asked if he had a rooting interest in Sunday's Super Bowl. "Ravens," he said. "Because of Bernard Pierce. " Allen and Pierce's Temple careers overlapped for two basketball seasons (2009-11) and though Allen said they may not have been daily phone buddies, they would have occasional conversations. "But I've been following him and know that he's been doing real well," Allen said of Pierce, who is Baltimore's second-string running back.