Sixers' Skid Now At 25 With 113-91 Loss To Spurs
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Austin Daye had 22 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the San Antonio Spurs earned their 14th straight win with a 113-91 victory Monday night that sent the Philadelphia 76ers to their 25th consecutive loss.
Philadelphia will face Houston on Thursday with the dubious distinction of being a loss shy of tying the NBA record for consecutive losses set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11.
Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills scored 15 points each and Cory Joseph added 12 for San Antonio, which maintained the league's best record at 54-16. The Spurs did not play starters Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, but did not need them against the lowly 76ers.
Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 19 points, Byron Mullens added 15 and Elliot Williams had 14 for Philadelphia (15-56).
The Sixers kept pace early against the Spurs, with Carter-Williams fearlessly driving into the paint for a series of short jumpers and Hollis Thompson hitting a pair of 3s.
Popovich called timeout with 3:44 left in the first half after Williams dunked over Duncan to tie it at 19.
Philadelphia's early success awoke the Spurs and brought out the best in the seldom-used Daye. His athleticism and energy were just what San Antonio needed after a listless start. Daye, who was averaging 2.3 minutes in four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, finished 6-for-10 on 3-pointers.
San Antonio went on a 26-5 spurt bridging the first and second quarters, capped by a 19-0 run.
Mullens' 3-pointer snapped the drought, but the Spurs were up 45-27 with 6:35 left in the first half and would never lead by less than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Spurs started Ginobili to give the team another facilitator on the court with Parker out. Ginobili did that and more, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds in eight minutes. He drove to the basket for a series of reverse layups, but was blocked by the rim on a one-handed dunk attempt in starting 2 for 3 from the field.
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