Shorthanded Sixers can't keep up with Spurs
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - You knew the San Antonio Spurs were bound to get the upper hand Thursday night. Especially with the 76ers being shorthanded, playing without two starters in Joel Embiid and Robert Covington and key reserves Nerlens Noel and Gerald Henderson.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - You knew the San Antonio Spurs were bound to get the upper hand Thursday night.
Especially with the 76ers being shorthanded, playing without two starters in Joel Embiid and Robert Covington and key reserves Nerlens Noel and Gerald Henderson.
The Spurs began with a horrid shooting display before intermission, but they shot better after halftime and beat the undermanned Sixers, 102-86, in Brett Brown's homecoming at the AT&T Center.
The loss by the Sixers (18-31) extended their losing streak to the Spurs (38-11) to 11 games and their 13th consecutive loss in San Antonio.
The Sixers had a 53-48 halftime lead thanks in large part to the Spurs shooting just 35.4 percent. However, San Antonio opened the second half on an 18-8 run to take a 66-61 lead with 5 minutes, 4 seconds left in the third quarter. The Spurs, who shot 42.7 percent for the game, never looked back.
"I didn't keep us together, either," said T.J. McConnell, thinking his play led to the Spurs' run. "I was crampy tonight. Yeah, they punched us in the mouth. But we could have had chances to score. That falls on me."
McConnell said he didn't have the Sixers organized and they missed some open shots. His job is to have guys in the right spots.
"And I just didn't have them there," said the second-year veteran, who finished with four points, seven assists, five rebounds, three turnovers and two steals. The Sixers committed 24 turnovers.
Kawhi Leonard paced the Spurs with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. He was one of seven double-digit scorers for San Antonio.
Ersan Ilyasova finished with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers. Dario Saric, who started at small forward in place of Covington, added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Covington missed his second consecutive game with a bruised right hand. Noel was sidelined with an upper respiratory infection, while Embiid sat out his third straight game with a bone bruise in his left knee. He has been sidelined in five of the last six games and is not expected to play in the remaining two games of the road trip.
Henderson was listed as a "DNP - coach's decision." However, he has been battling left hip soreness the entire season.
Thursday marked the Sixers' fourth game in five days. Beginning Saturday, they will play seven in 12 days leading up to the all-star break beginning Saturday. So the team wanted to give Henderson a day off.
Sixers associate head coach Jim O'Brien was not on the bench because of the flu.
On this night, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had nothing but great things to say about his close friend and former assistant Brown, the most positive person he knows.
He praised Brown for the coaching job he's done with the Sixers one season after admitting that he couldn't hold Brown's job for longer than a month.
"As I mentioned before the winning streak, in the past years, there's nobody that can do the job that he's doing, considering the situation that it has been," Popovich said. "His demeanor and his ability to stay positive and just teach and get satisfaction out of watching young player absorb things are beyond my comprehension."
But the Spurs coach said he is not surprised that Brown is turning the Sixers around.
Popovich knows the Sixers posted a 10-5 record in January. He also knows Philadelphia is abuzz with Sixers mania.
"That's tough to do," Popovich said. "Philly is tough to get excited."
But he called Brown a consummate teacher and an upbeat individual, which have helped him turn things around after going 47-199 in his first three seasons.
"I couldn't be more thrilled," Popovich said. "All of a sudden, people start to think maybe this guy can coach. But he was already coaching.
"But it's easier for people like me to coach Tim Duncan. That makes you look pretty good. But at this level you have to have a level of talent to match everybody else. When you don't, you pay the price."
@PompeyOnSixers