THE TEARS flowed from Sam Dalembert's weary eyes as he recalled the horror to which he had just subjected himself, having spent the past couple of days in his native Haiti, assessing the damage caused by last week's devastating earthquake and doing all that he could to help.
Dalembert's journey began shortly after Monday's game in Minnesota and ended just before the 76ers' game against the Portland Trail Blazers last night at the Wachovia Center.
He arrived at the arena about 15 minutes before game time, ran down the hallway, dressed hurriedly and somehow was able to collect 10 points and 15 rebounds in the Sixers' 98-90 loss.
His emotions overflowed in the locker room following the game - from grief to sadness to frustration. As has been the case for the past week, Dalembert's mind was probably far away from the game of basketball.
Yet, he still put in another productive night, although he probably couldn't recall what he had done during another loss. His every thought was back in Haiti.
"I took that trip to see firsthand what was needed and we wanted to prioritize," he said of the trip he took with Project MidiShare.
"I didn't see anything like that. I saw somebody have their leg amputated in front of me. The mosquitoes and flies were everywhere. Surgeries were performed on kitchen tables, on folding kitchen tables.
"It hurts. Problems just keep coming. There's no M*A*S*H unit over there to keep moving things around. They're still trying to locate people."
As Dalembert spoke, the emotions poured from his face like sweat during a game. He got particularly emotional when talking about people who aren't helping, especially when it comes to adoption.
"It's so frustrating," he said. "There are probably a hundred people [who want to adopt] but you have guys sitting down with the papers and all it takes is one hour to get through everything.
"What really touched my heart the most are the children, a lot of homeless children. The situation is so terrible. They need food and water.
"The doctors, they come and stay for a long period of times, but then they have to come in shifts. Most of them are working for 20 hours straight. You can see in their eyes that they are so tired. They're doing their best, then they hop in a plane, go home and sleep and then come back again 2 days later and do it again."
Dalembert plans to make more trips to his homeland. He made it out yesterday before another quake rattled the region in the early morning. His father, whose house received limited damage in the original earthquake, is still in Haiti, and Dalembert said he would not leave.
But getting out was something Dalembert had to do yesterday - mostly for his own well-being, and to be available for his team last night. He knows more bad times are ahead for Haiti, especially when the rain starts to fall. But there is only so much he can do.
"Any time soon they're going to have rain," he said. "Everything is going to push all up into the street. A lot of people don't have sandals. They're out there desperately asking for help. I tried to be strong out there, I really tried."
Somehow, Dalembert did have to play the game, and it ultimately turned out to be one with an all-too-familiar ending.
"Thunder and Lightning" is usually a term used in football, referring to a pair of running backs in which one is powerful and the other is quick.
The Trail Blazers unleashed their basketball version of "Thunder and Lightning" with guard Andre Miller providing the thuds and fellow guard Jerryd Bayless showing the speed.
The two combined for 42 points, 32 coming in the second half, as Portland (26-17) pinned another close-but-no-cigar loss on the Sixers, who are now 13-28.
It was a boost the Blazers needed as guard Brandon Roy, the team's leading scorer at 23.4 points a game, didn't play in the second half after reinjuring his right hamstring.
Miller, released during the offseason by the Sixers, was the topic of conversation among fans who again left the building disgustedly. He bruised and battered his way to a game-high 24 points, scoring 14 of them in the third quarter.
And when the Sixers started to concentrate on Miller a bit more in the fourth, Bayless countered with 14 in the final quarter, including the first eight.
"They just played well," Allen Iverson said of the Miller-Bayless tandem. "Bayless got out in transition and made a lot happen and got a lot of easy baskets. Andre played well throughout the game. They got good games from both guys. Brandon Roy didn't play and those guys stepped their game up."
And the Sixers didn't. Once again, they had their chances. And again, they couldn't find a way to get it done.
After a steal and dunk by Andre Iguodala (23 points) pulled the Sixers within two at 90-88 with 1 minute, 38 seconds left, Miller was able to get the sixth foul on Dalembert with a drive to the basket. He drained both for a four-point lead. Elton Brand then canned a short jumper to cut it to two on a botched offensive possession, but the Blazers made six straight foul shots from there on out to close out the scoring.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge provided the inside presence for Portland, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds.
"I thought we at least came out in the second half with a little more aggression," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said.
"But you know it comes down to the end. They just kept driving and finishing plays even when we had some decent defense. They would find something - an offensive rebound, a late drive or a late basket. We just could not do the same.
"We could not come back and finish plays at the rim."
Brand (13 points) seemed to have a simpler solution.
"It is about putting the talent together and putting the right pieces out there at the right time so that we can defend and score at the same time," he said. "That is all it is about."
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