:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47825795/usa-today-8983291.0.jpg)
Despite Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan being inactive tonight and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich giving Manu Ginobli a DNP-CD, the Spurs entered the Wells Fargo Center and bludgeoned the Sixers from slightly past start to stop by a final score of 119-68.
Though going back to this point it feels like a trip in the wayback machine, the Sixers did once lead this game by more than a single bucket could overcome. They had an 11-7 lead in the first quarter, and that's when it all came crashing down on the Sixers. The Spurs ripped off a 26-6 run to conclude the opening quarter, and things only got worse from there for the Sixers.
Highlighting the bad performances, Jahlil Okafor had himself an evening to forget. In the offensive end, he began the evening 0-for-4* with an offensive foul and could only finish 3-14 with 10 points in 29 minutes coming off the bench.
*I approved of all name-related puns
On the defensive end, Okafor looked like a lost puppy. That was never more apparent than when Boban Marjanovic, sent from the future as a glimpse into the future evolution of mankind, did this to him.
Hatchi matchi, Jahlil.
Robert Covington and Nerlens Noel each led the Sixers with 13 points apiece, RoCo on 5-8 shooting and Nerlens on 6-9 shooting (nice). But neither could compare to Marjanovic who alone in 17 minutes scored more points than any individual Sixer. And that's not even getting into the worst of it. LaMarcus Aldridge led the game with 26 points on 11-15 shooting in addition to the 9 defensive boards he picked up as well. Meanwhile Tony Parker added 12 points on 5-8 shooting and Jonathan Simmons added 14 points of his own, although his were on a much less efficient 4-13 shooting.
It was an ugly loss much like plenty of the other ugly blowout losses the Sixers have faced at the hands of strong Western Conference teams in the Sam Hinkie/Brett Brown era. It's no condemnation against them, the team is just rebuilding and nowhere near good enough to combat these guys in a 48-minute game of professional basketball.
The focal point of the evening though was Jerry Colangelo. Abandoning any pretense of calling the game in the third quarter, the CSN broadcast interviewed Colangelo for nearly six minutes during the third quarter. The conversation went on awhile, but a lot of what Colangelo said circled back to his claim that he will meet with Sam Hinkie tomorrow to discuss whether they should "tweak the plan" or continue on the same course Hinkie has had this team on for the past few years.
Right now there is more confusion regarding the Sixers than there has ever been under Sam Hinkie, and though it could have been expected, a 51-point bludgeoning at the hands of the Spurs is not the best way for the Colangelo era to start. Up next for the Sixers a road match against the Nets, a game in which they may actually have a chance! To win!