Philly Sports Jabronis
By Max Rappaport, Sixers.com
SAN ANTONIO, TX –– The basketball at AT&T Center is played with surgical precision. From the crisp movement off the ball, to the smooth defensive rotations, to the effortless way in which they distribute and share the ball, the Spurs don’t waste a single joule of unnecessary energy on the court.
While at times in Monday’s 100-75 loss in San Antonio the Sixers appeared poised to whittle down the deficit they built in the game’s opening minutes, every instance in which they came close the Spurs would coolly apply pressure to the gas pedal and rebuild their advantage.
“The way they come at you with so much depth and so much corporate knowledge, they’re so hard to guard,” said head coach Brett Brown. “Despite what our roster may look like, we still have stay organized and share the ball offensively, and we didn’t tonight.”
Twenty-seven of the Spurs’ 36 baskets were assisted, compared to just 15-of-27 for the Sixers. San Antonio shot 44.4% from the floor and went 10-for-26 from long range compared to Philadelphia’s 32.5 field-goal percentage and 4-of-26 performance from deep.
Despite disparate offensive numbers, the Sixers continued to fight throughout the game, even cutting their deficit to 10 points in the fourth quarter after an 11-1 run with 10 minutes left in the game. San Antonio responded with a fierce and focused attack, outscoring the Sixers 26 to 11 the rest of the way. During that stretch, the Spurs went 8-of-14 from the floor, with all but two of their field goals coming off of assists.
“They’re the best passing team in the league and one of the best executing teams in the league,” said veteran forward Luc Mbah a Moute. “I wish we would have [gone on our run] earlier. It’s tough for us [when we] get down big early. It’s so much harder having to come back, especially against a team like this.”
The wire-to-wire loss dropped Philadelphia to 0-10 on the season.
Turning Point
Both the Sixers and Spurs struggled in the first quarter, and with just over one minute remaining in the opening frame the score stood at 20-10, San Antonio advantage. Over the final 68 seconds of the quarter, though, the Spurs rattled off 10 points on five successful trips down the floor, extending their lead to 30-13.
Top Performers
• Despite going 1-of-5 from long range, Michael Carter-Williams led the Sixers with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He also logged five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the loss.
• Luc Mbah a Moute started at small forward and played solid defense in 25 minutes of action. He also contributed 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting to go along with four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
By The Numbers: 18
The Spurs average 13.7 turnovers per game, but on Monday they committed 18. Unfortunately, the Sixers were not able to capitalize on those extra opportunities, scoring just eight points off of turnovers while allowing the Spurs to score 18 points on just 14 giveaways.
Pop’s Praise
Before Monday’s game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was asked about his former protégé, Sixers head coach Brett Brown. Here’s what he had to say:
“He’s one of the guys who helped establish our program, when we put everything together the way we wanted to do it he was central to doing that. He knows what wins, he knows what loses, and he knows what has to be done. He’s about as tough-minded and upbeat as anyone I’ve ever been around.”
