The Sixers welcomed the San Antonio Spurs into the Wells Fargo Center Monday night looking for another statement win against the reigning Western Conference champs. It would be Brett Brown's first matchup against his mentor, Gregg Popovich. The 76ers came off a close loss in double overtime against Cleveland as the Spurs came off a blowout win against the Knicks only the day before. After two solid team performances in their last two games, the Sixers came out in their true tanking form as they were decisively beat by the Spurs.
The Spurs rested Tim Duncan and had Boris Diaw start in his place, but with how well they played, you could not tell. The Sixers started off cold missing their first 7 shots before James Anderson finally connected from long range. The Sixers were able to score 7 unanswered and would take their first and only lead of the game at 7-6.
Turner came in aggressive just like the way he finished in his 31 point game against the Cavaliers. However, the Spurs played like the Spurs, and they finished the 1st quarter with a 14-0 run as the building went quiet. The Spurs dominated the end of the quarter as they finished up 31-13.
Tony Wroten would break the scoreless streak with a driving layup and Hawes followed by making the block on defense and completing a 3-point play on the other end of the floor. After a few stops, and an Evan Turner 3 off an MCW steal and assist, the Sixers were back in it and only down 8 with 9:06 left in the half. It began to look like everytime a coach called a timeout, their team would go on a run of their own.
The Spurs' movement and passing on offense was able to manipulate Philadelphia's defense as the Sixers continuously left Danny Green and Marco Bellini open beyond the arc. With Duncan out, the focus of the Sixers' defense should be to prevent the 3, but they could not do that. The Spurs finished with 8 threes in the first half. The Sixers went into the break down 57-38, Turner leading the team with 15 points, as Hawes had a great first half adding 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Brett Brown gave an amazing interview at the start of the half. After being asked if he could share a little about his pregame moment with Popovich, Brown simply stated "No" and walked away. That was awesome. Exactly what you'd expect from a Pop protege and I'm looking forward to more interviews with elegance such as that.
San Antonio continued to put on a clinic from downtown as they expanded their lead to 27 early in the 3rd. Philadelphia was able to dig themselves out of their hole a little bit with an 11-2 run, but they still ended the quarter down by 19.
Any run that the Sixers may have started seemed to be ended with a wide open three from San Antonio. Philadelphia remained down by more than 18 for the rest of the game. Even the Spurs' bench were able to handle Philly's starters in this one. Final score: Spurs 109, 76ers 85. It was the lowest scoring game for Philadelphia in the young season. The Spurs hit 46% of their shots from downtown compared to the Sixers who struggled at 26%.
Evan Turner finished with a team high 20 points as his shot would not fall in the second half. Hawes ended with 17 points and 13 rebounds. MCW had a quite game offensively: 8 points and 4 assists, as he struggled only hitting 2 of his 11 shots. However, the rookie did contribute 3 steals and 3 blocks defensively. Wroten contributed 13 points of the bench. Danny Green led the Spurs with 18 points off 5 three-pointers. Parker added 14 points and 9 assists. San Antonio received 45 points from their reserves.
At 4-4, the Sixers still hold first place in the underwhelming Atlantic division. Philadelphia will stay home and face James Harden, Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
By: Matt Ryan
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
Turner came in aggressive just like the way he finished in his 31 point game against the Cavaliers. However, the Spurs played like the Spurs, and they finished the 1st quarter with a 14-0 run as the building went quiet. The Spurs dominated the end of the quarter as they finished up 31-13.
Tony Wroten would break the scoreless streak with a driving layup and Hawes followed by making the block on defense and completing a 3-point play on the other end of the floor. After a few stops, and an Evan Turner 3 off an MCW steal and assist, the Sixers were back in it and only down 8 with 9:06 left in the half. It began to look like everytime a coach called a timeout, their team would go on a run of their own.
The Spurs' movement and passing on offense was able to manipulate Philadelphia's defense as the Sixers continuously left Danny Green and Marco Bellini open beyond the arc. With Duncan out, the focus of the Sixers' defense should be to prevent the 3, but they could not do that. The Spurs finished with 8 threes in the first half. The Sixers went into the break down 57-38, Turner leading the team with 15 points, as Hawes had a great first half adding 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Brett Brown gave an amazing interview at the start of the half. After being asked if he could share a little about his pregame moment with Popovich, Brown simply stated "No" and walked away. That was awesome. Exactly what you'd expect from a Pop protege and I'm looking forward to more interviews with elegance such as that.
San Antonio continued to put on a clinic from downtown as they expanded their lead to 27 early in the 3rd. Philadelphia was able to dig themselves out of their hole a little bit with an 11-2 run, but they still ended the quarter down by 19.
Any run that the Sixers may have started seemed to be ended with a wide open three from San Antonio. Philadelphia remained down by more than 18 for the rest of the game. Even the Spurs' bench were able to handle Philly's starters in this one. Final score: Spurs 109, 76ers 85. It was the lowest scoring game for Philadelphia in the young season. The Spurs hit 46% of their shots from downtown compared to the Sixers who struggled at 26%.
Evan Turner finished with a team high 20 points as his shot would not fall in the second half. Hawes ended with 17 points and 13 rebounds. MCW had a quite game offensively: 8 points and 4 assists, as he struggled only hitting 2 of his 11 shots. However, the rookie did contribute 3 steals and 3 blocks defensively. Wroten contributed 13 points of the bench. Danny Green led the Spurs with 18 points off 5 three-pointers. Parker added 14 points and 9 assists. San Antonio received 45 points from their reserves.
At 4-4, the Sixers still hold first place in the underwhelming Atlantic division. Philadelphia will stay home and face James Harden, Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
By: Matt Ryan
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
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