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| Mills made six 3PTers, leading the Spurs to a 15th straight victory. |
The contributions of Patty Mills, Kawhi Leonard and Iman Shumpert were enough to weather the storm and achieve a strong win, raising San Antonio's win streak to 15, towering above the other 29 teams at this point.
An unforgettable, highlight-worthy moment came as Kawhi Leonard attempted to extend a lead in the fourth quarter, driving hard to the rim for a dunk, only to be swatted to the floor by Joel Embiid. Philly's cornerstone big man had 23 points and 16 rebounds, finishing with 4 blocks. The firepower from long range did in the Sixers, though, notably from Iman Shumpert. He was on fire, making four 3PTers for 19 points, shooting 70% overall. Patty Mills led the Spurs to this victory, crafting 10 assists and splashing home six 3PTers of his own, finishing with a game-high 28 points with 2 steals.
Despite being hammered by Embiid, Kawhi Leonard (23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) resiliently crashed in some other dunks on the fast break, using his defense to get open coast to coast. Outside of the trio, the Spurs got 9 points and 8 rebounds with 1 block and 1 steal from Rudy Gay. Jeremy Lamb had 8 points, dunking the ball through the net in the contentious first half. Bismack Biyombo had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Pau Gasol had just six points and Mario Hezonja hit home a 3PTer for the team.
Overall, these teams were only separated by a total of 10 points for all four quarters, splitting halves. The Spurs won rebounding 42-39, especially with 16 offensive rebounds, but Philly had more assists (26/20). Unfortunately, the 76ers had 16 turnovers and missed 8 free throws, losing only by 6 points. The Spurs conversely went perfect from the charity stripe and made more 3PTers, despite Philly shooting 57% from the field. Quantity won out in his game, as San Antonio shot seventeen more times.
For Philadelphia, Robert Covington had 19 points with 1 block on 75% shooting. Markelle Fultz was the spark for the Sixers, posting 19 points with 8 assists. Fultz only shot 8/20, though. JJ Redick was hot early for 14 points, making four 3PTers. Dario Saric had 13 points and 9 rebounds, but Ben Simmons only had 10 points and 4 assists, as the Spurs once again isolated him and clogged passing lane opportunities. Both teams had strong defense with blocks all over the place, but the Spurs were more crafty with 12 steals as a unit.