76ers at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs look to continue their mastery of Philadelphia when they host the 76ers on Thursday. San Antonio won the past 10 meetings against Philadelphia and outright annihilated the 76ers in last season's final meeting when they prevailed 119-68.
The Spurs halted a rare two-game losing streak with a 108-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard was again superb with 36 points and eight rebounds. Leonard averaged 28.6 points and scored 30 or more points seven times in January, including a career-best 41-point performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 21. Philadelphia will be without star center Joel Embiid (knee) for the sixth time in seven games and is looking to recover from Wednesday's 113-95 loss against the Dallas Mavericks. Second-year pro Jahlil Okafor scored 16 points in place of Embiid but is averaging just 2.8 rebounds over his past four outings.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TCN Philadelphia, FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (18-30): Anytime Embiid sits and Okafor starts in the middle, Philadelphia feels the effects from both a defensive and rebounding standpoint. Okafor had one rebound in 24 minutes against the Mavericks and backup Nerlens Noel collected just three in 17 minutes and coach Brett Brown couldn't suppress his disappointment over that fact. "The numbers are the numbers," Brown told reporters. "We will go back and look at stuff and try to help (Okafor) improve in that area. It's quite glaring when you look at the small volume of rebounds with our two five men."
ABOUT THE SPURS (37-11): Leonard and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (25) combined for 61 of San Antonio's 108 points on Tuesday and the Spurs will be without Aldridge against the 76ers due to a sore right knee. Aldridge was just 11-of-34 shooting over the previous two games and reached 20 points just twice in 10 games prior to his 8-of-15 effort against Oklahoma City. Center Pau Gasol (hand) has missed the past seven games and is out for at least four more weeks so any scoring boost from Aldridge would be timely.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs won the past 11 home games versus the 76ers.
2. San Antonio PG Tony Parker tallied just three points against Oklahoma City after scoring 16 on 8-of-12 shooting two nights earlier against Dallas.
3. Philadelphia SF Robert Covington (hand) sat out Wednesday and is doubtful to play against the Spurs.