.Simmons had 21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Redick scored 19 points.DeRozan led the Spurs with 26 points.Embiid went 13 of 28 from the floor and had two 3-pointers. Embiid, who had his NBA-best 33rd game this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, hit a 3 from the top of the arc and connected on the tying free throws the next time down to send the game into the fourth tied 96-all.The 76ers turned in the sequence of the half after Brewer's 3 made it 51-48. Jonah Bolden blocked LeMarcus Aldridge twice on the same sequence and Simmons grabbed a loose ball off the second rejection. He took off and fed it to Bolden for a crowd-igniting dunk on the other end. Redick followed with a 3 for a 56-48 lead that had the four-point favorite Sixers rolling.TIP-INSSpurs: Belinelli, a former 76er, got a nice ovation when he checked into the game.76ers: Simmons played with an upper respiratory infection and Embiid had tightness in his back.CELEB SIGHTINGSRapper Biz Markie was in the house, and Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and players Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins rang the ceremonial bell. Former Spur David Robinson spent several minutes signing autographs for Sixers fans.PALESTRA POWERThe Spurs held their shootaround at Philadelphia's Palestra, the historic gym known as the basketball cathedral on Penn's campus.''This is what you're supposed to feel like when you play basketball,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ''All these other arenas that we're all in, they don't do anything to your spirit. They don't make you feel anything. You don't fall in love.'' NOVA NATIONVillanova's Jay Wright will serve as an assistant coach under Popovich for Team USA.''He's a helluva coach. He's a helluva guy. End of story,'' Popovich said. ''He's been pretty successful last time I checked.'' HE SAID IT''He's full of (expletive). That's why I got rid of him. Kiss-(expletive).'' - Popovich, on Sixers coach Brett Brown saying Pop's the greatest coach in NBA history.Popovich gave his former assistant a playful shove on the sideline late in the game.UP NEXTThe Spurs play Saturday at New Orleans.The Sixers open a four-game trip Saturday at Denver.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Jan 22, 2019The Philadelphia 76ers will be searching for their 21st home win when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.The 76ers picked improved to 20-5 at home with a convincing 121-93 thrashing of the Houston Rockets on Monday. Joel Embiid led the way with 32 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Landry Shamet also scored 18 points and JJ Redick added 16.Embiid registered his league-high 20th game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. The last Philadelphia player with a minimum of 20 games with 30 points and 10 rebounds was Charles Barkley in the 1990-91 season when he had 22.Embiid, who was questionable with lower back soreness, continues to play at a Most Valuable Player level."I mean, all you really have to do, in my eyes, is look what happens when we don't have him," Sixers head coach Brett Brown said of Embiid's value. "And look at some of the first halves that he has produced that has forced our position (and) coaches to make incredible adjustments in the second half. And I think that in my eyes it's not even close he should be in these types of (MVP) conversations." The Sixers' defense was solid against the Rockets as they recorded 14 blocked shots, one short of tying a season high of 15 set against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 9, 2018."Our defense was great, especially in the third quarter," Embiid said. "I think they only had 13 points. We did a pretty good job, so we've got to keep moving on that and get better but it was good to see." Jimmy Butler missed the game against the Rockets with a sore wrist and he's questionable against the Spurs. Point guard Ben Simmons (upper respiratory infection) also is questionable.The Spurs are looking to respond following a disappointing 103-95 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points and swept 14 rebounds, but the Spurs were awkward with the basketball and committed an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers."I think they out-executed us and out-competed us tonight every way, shape and form," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "And, we were sloppy with the ball on top of it, so that's a bad combination." DeMar DeRozan scored only eight points, his second-fewest total since joining the Spurs. DeRozan has been dealing with a tender ankle and he missed the prior game.In addition, DeRozan was 4 of 16 from the field for his worst shooting game in a Spurs uniform."The next game's going to come and he's going to do what he does," Spurs guard Derrick White told reporters about DeRozan. "It happens, it's a long season. I'm not too worried about it." However, DeRozan has scored 20 or more points in each of his last five games against the Sixers.Rudy Gay contributed 19 points for the Spurs. And forward Marco Belinelli knocked down a pair of 3-pointers on seven attempts and notched his 300th career trey with the Spurs. Belinelli, who became the 13th player in franchise history to record 300 treys, finished last season with the Sixers.The Spurs fell 112-106 last season in Philadelphia.--Field Level Media
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