Joel Embiid had 38 points and 12 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers held off a after rally to smack the San Antonio Spurs 115-109 on Sunday night.
It was Embiid’s 14th consecutive game with at least 25 points.
“What he’s doing is special,” Philadelphia forward Tobias Harris said. “We rely on him, night after night. He is the anchor of our team. The anchor of our rude flow there. I thought tonight he was just doing a great job of taking the game apart. Really involve everyone out there in their Spots and always be able to get the shots he wanted.”
Harris added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Furkan Korkmaz had 17 points for the 76ers. Philadelphia has won seven straight over San Antonio.
Jacob Poeltl had 25 Points and 10 Rebounds and Dejounte Murray added 19 Points and 12 Assists for the Spurs.
After trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Spurs closed to 111-109 on Murray’s Steal and Breakaway Layup with 33.2 seconds left as part of an 8-4 run. Embiid would seal the win with a pair of free throws with 14.9 seconds left.
“They had their chances in the end,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “But you make it very difficult when you see someone a quarter, and we did it again. The same as the last time we played it.”
After a 40-point performance Friday with a points loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Embiid shot 16 for 32 in 32 minutes from the field.
“It’s hard to keep them,” Poeltl said. “We tried to make it as difficult as possible with our team defense.”
Philadelphia won its fourth in six games, although it was missing a few key players.
In addition to the sequel without All-Star forward Ben Simmons, the 76ers had four players with injuries, including Seth Curry and Danny Green.
Philadelphia held San Antonio to shooting 31 percent while building a 41-29 lead.
The Spurs rallied and closed out the game shooting 48 percent from the field, but only 10 for 30 on 3-pointers.
“We still had too many defensive mistakes in the fourth quarter,” Harris said. “We need to clean this up. We need to be able to really take a stand and assert ourselves there.”
ADVICE
76ers: Embiid had 31 Points in Philadelphia’s 119-100 win over San Antonio on Jan. 8. … Curry missed his second straight game with a left ankle wounds. … Green has served six straight games with a right hip wounds. … Matisse Thybulle has missed five straight games since spraining his right shoulder. … Shake Milton did not play because of a back contusion. … The 76ers are 17-9 on the road.
Spurs: San Antonio assistants Becky Hammon, Mitch Johnson and Darius Songaila remain in the League’s health and safety protocols. … Poeltl collected his 16th Double-Double, surpassing the previous season’s 15. … The Spurs remember F Zach Collins from his G League commitment, but he’s staying out during the overhaul after last playing in an NBA game in August. 15. Collins last played against Memphis with Portland before pulling out seven minutes after leaving because of left ankle inflammation. Collins had surgery Dec. 30 to repair a stress fracture in his left foot and required a second operation June 29, after breaking his foot. Murray has had 48 points, 24 assists and 22 rebounds in his last two games, earning Triple-Doubles in both. The Spurs are 9-14 at home.
IN FUEGO
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers has fond memories of his two seasons with the Spurs starting but he joked about some rather hostile moments.
Rivers came off the bench for the first time in his San Antonio career. He really enjoyed doing it, except when he was asked to be a defensive stopper.
“I loved it until Vinny Del Negro set this guy on fire and then they told me to stop him,” Rivers said. “Some nights we’d call him Vinny because I walked in and I said, ‘the guy’s on fire. Should I keep it?’We laugh about it.”
