Balanced attack leads Spurs past 76ers
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard contributed 19 points while leading seven San Antonio players in double-figure scoring as the Spurs rallied from a seven-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Philadelphia 102-86 on Thursday at the AT&T Center.
The Spurs earned their 11th consecutive win over the 76ers.
Leonard's point total tied his lowest offensive output in his past 10 games, but the Spurs' balanced attack in a ragged game made that statistic inconsequential. He still led San Antonio in scoring for the 35th time this season.
The Spurs' victory allowed coach Gregg Popovich to tie former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan for the most wins by a coach with a single team in NBA history (1,127). Popovich and Sloan have 332 more wins than the coach in third place, Boston legend Red Auerbach (795). Popovich also has the most wins of any active coach in the league.
Dewayne Dedmon had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs. Patty Mills, David Lee, Davis Bertans and Danny Green had 12 points apiece, and Jonathon Simmons hit for 11 for San Antonio (38-11).
The 76ers' Ersan Ilyasova led all scorers with 25 points, and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Dario Saric added 14 for Philadelphia, which has lost two games in a row.
The Spurs, sporting a shuffled starting lineup that included Dedmon at center and Bertans at forward, hit just 8 of 28 shots in the first quarter but still managed a 24-21 lead after Mills' 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds to play in the period. The Sixers also scuffled in the quarter, shooting only 38.1 percent and missing 3 of 7 free-throw attempts.
Philadelphia (18-31) took a 41-40 lead on three-point play by Ilyasova at the 3:49 mark of the second quarter and expanded it to four points on a 3-pointer by Ilyasova on the ensuing possession that rimmed up and out and back into the hoop. The Spurs went back in front a minute later at 45-44 on Leonard's jumper and free throw, but Philadelphia ended the half with a 9-3 run to take a 53-48 lead to halftime.
Ilyasova led the 76ers with 16 points in the half, while Leonard paced the Spurs with 12 points and Bertans had 10. Philadelphia owned a 42.6 percent-35.4 percent edge in field-goal shooting, had 11 assists to just eight for San Antonio and earned 22 points in the paint to 16 for the Spurs.
An 8-0 run by the Spurs over a 3 1/2-minute span of the third quarter pushed the home team back to the lead at 66-61 as Philadelphia went more than five minutes without a field goal.
A pullup jumper by Leonard with 10.2 seconds to play in the quarter granted San Antonio a 79-73 advantage at the period's end, but it was the 76ers' 26.3 percent shooting from the floor in the quarter that was the major reason the Spurs owned the lead.
The Spurs wound up shooting 42.7 percent from the floor, while the 76ers shot 34.1 percent.
NOTES: Philadelphia finished January with a 10-5 record, matching its win total from last season in one month. The Sixers put together their first winning month (minimum eight games played) since November 2012, when they went 9-6. ... Spurs C Pau Gasol (left hand surgery) missed his ninth consecutive game. 19. There is no timetable for his return. San Antonio was also without F LaMarcus Aldridge (right knee soreness). ... C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia's Rookie of the Year candidate, didn't make the trip to Texas with the team. He bruised his left knee on Jan. 20 and hasn't played in seven of the past eight games. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown spent 11 seasons (2002-13) with the Spurs, including his last seven on the bench as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich. ... The Spurs made their NBA debut on Oct. 22, 1976, in Philadelphia, defeating the Sixers 121-118. That game also marked the NBA debut of Hall of Famer Julius Erving.