76ers at Spurs
The Philadelphia 76ers are climbing up the Eastern Conference standings with wins in eight of their last 10 games -- a stretch that includes the franchise's first win over the San Antonio Spurs in six years. The 76ers will try to make it two straight over the perennial contenders when they visit San Antonio on Friday.
Philadelphia snapped a 12-game losing streak in the series with a 112-106 home win over the Spurs on Jan. 3 as Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons combined for 47 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. The two young stars continue to improve and push the team forward, and Simmons showed off the full range of his skills by collecting 19 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists in a 115-101 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. The Spurs almost had their own triple-double on Wednesday, with center Pau Gasol falling one assist shy, and managed to skip past the Memphis Grizzlies 108-85 despite All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge sitting out on the second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio, which beat Cleveland 114-102 on Tuesday, earned back-to-back wins for the first time this month and is opening a five-game homestand against the 76ers.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, KENS (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (23-21): Wednesday's triple-double marked the fifth of the season for Simmons, making him the first rookie since Magic Johnson to record at least five. "He rebounded, and instigated a lot himself," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters of Simmons' latest gem. "He's able to control stuff when he rebounds and takes off. I still think that's the hardest thing to guard. Back in the day, you'd see Charles Barkley do that. It's hard to defend." Simmons was more aggressive offensively on Wednesday and went 7-of-10 from the free-throw line after not attempting a free throw in any of the previous three games.
ABOUT THE SPURS (32-18): Gasol went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and managed three rebounds in 13 minutes while going up against Embiid in the Jan. 3 meeting but was at his best while playing against younger brother Marc and the Grizzlies on Wednesday. Gasol, 37, took Tuesday off and looked refreshed while collecting 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. San Antonio had eight players score in double figures against Memphis, led by Patty Mills' 15 off the bench, and got another solid performance from Dejounte Murray, who recorded 11 points and seven assists in his second game since being officially named the starter at point guard.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. 76ers PF Dario Saric recorded a double-double in each of the last two games and is 13-of-20 from the floor in that span.
2. San Antonio SG Manu Ginobili (thigh) sat out the last five games and is questionable for Friday.
3. Philadelphia SG Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is averaging 16 points while going 13-of-20 from 3-point range over the last three games.