Sixers stay hot against the undermanned Spurs

It wasn’t easy, but the Philadelphia 76ers pulled out another tight win, this time against the San Antonio Spurs. With several of the big name Spurs out this game was looked at as one of the easier ones on the schedule, essentially playing against San Antonio’s B-Team. Well as we all know, nothing in Philadelphia sports is ever easy, as the Sixers once again tried blowing a late lead to a team they outplayed for three and a half quarters.

Much like last game though, the Sixers found a way to pull away late and get a big win to keep a modest winning streak alive. Ben Simmons once again came up big down the stretch, showing he can put away a game on the free throw line, and Joel Embiid mysteriously wound up in the starting lineup right before game time and ended up dominating.

Secondary players wound up having a big effect on the game as well, as JJ Redick and Dario Saric stayed hot, scoring 20 and 15 points. Besides scoring it was something that the Sixers struggled with all season that led to them winning, and that is the turnover battle. Having only 5 at halftime, the third quarter they started to struggle with sloppy play, but ended with only 13 in the game, 7 less than their season average.

The Sixers have a lot to learn from this game, as the Spurs were missing most of their best players and yet still kept things tight, but alas, a win is a win. Now it’s on to the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Six(ers) Notes:

• No one knows what the medical staff is thinking at this point. Joel Embiid was considered “highly doubtful” just a half hour before game time, and yet he was out there.
• Ben Simmons shot 15 free throws tonight, making 10 of 15. Going to the line a lot at the end of the game due to the Hack-a-Ben game plan, Simmons wasn’t phased and hit some key free throws. Hopefully this becomes the norm.
• There’s been no reason why he hasn’t been playing, but Richaun Holmes needs more run. Only playing 6 minutes tonight, Holmes is a spark plug off of the bench that is very underutilized.
• Robert Covington continues to slump as of late, and his recent inability to play tough defense is making him expendable at the end of games until he gets his shot back.
• The Sixers should prioritize getting a bench wing player at the trade deadline, the lack of depth is incredibly obvious.
• I’m extremely happy to see Brett Brown win this game against his former team. You could see how happy he was in his postgame press conference. After all he’s been through, Coach Brown deserved this win.