Third Quarter
The Sixers went small to start the second half with Yabusele in Embiid’s place and he did a really good job filling in. He shifted over to swipe a lazy post-entry pass then was rewarded with a quick five points on the other end. He seems to have broken out of the shooting slump he was in the past week or so. His burden for tonight only got heavier though when Drummond was ruled out in the third with a toe contusion.
It was a good thing the three-ball was falling for the Sixers because they weren’t going to beat the Spurs inside tonight. There haven’t been many nights this season where Caleb Martin has hit multiple threes (two games before tonight, to be exact) but perhaps that time off benefitted him because he made two of his first three tonight. The second was in the middle of a 14-0 Sixers run.
The scoring teetered off a bit after that run, but George was able to buoy the offense with some pull-up jumpers and free throw attempts — exactly the type of situations you want to see him step up in. The Sixers ended the third holding a nine-point lead.
Fourth Quarter
A lot of the Sixers’ good offense early was just good shotmaking, but they were really moving the ball around well to start the fourth. Lowry pulled up for a jumper but decided to pass instead to a cutting Yabu for a baseline dunk. The next possession, Yabu pump-faked Wembyanyama and sent it around the horn for another Caleb Martin three. The Spurs starting the fourth 4-of-6 from three-point range kept them right in it though. They took advantage of the faster pace to get into their offense as the Sixers were still getting back.
San Antonio stayed hot from deep, eventually retaking the lead on a three from Chris Paul. Maxey re-took it back on a couple of layups — it was a cat and mouse game between him and Wemby all night trying to get Wemby far enough for Maxey to use a burst of speed to get to the rim. Sixers summer league legend Julian Champagnie tied it again though with a three.
To steal a Zumoff-ism, the two teams went back and forth on the seesaw for the next two minutes. Maxey got a steal in the backcourt and re-took the lead with an absurd dunk with 59 seconds remaining. After yet another steal before the Spurs crossed halfcourt, he hit a stepback three to give them some cushion and put this one away.
What better way to celebrate a holiday than with these Philadelphia 76ers. They’ll be back in action on Christmas Day for their first meeting against the Boston Celtics at 5 p.m. on ABC and ESPN.
Wow, Sixers-Spurs has certainly been an interesting matchup in Philly the past two seasons.
Philadelphia knocked off San Antonio 111-106 Monday night in a game that can only be described as absolutely bonkers.
Joel Embiid had nine points before being ejected late in the second quarter.
Tyrese Maxey picked up the slack in his absence, leading all scorers with 32 points including the dunk and stepback three that iced the game. He also finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Paul George finished with 19 points and nine boards on 6-of-16 shooting. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with the 26 and also became public enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
It was a pretty good start for the stars as Embiid went right at Wembanyama on his first touch of the game to draw a foul. He knocked down a three off a broken play a few moments later. Wemby was shadowing Embiid early which gave the Sixers room to work within the paint when Embiid set up outside. George also knocked down a couple jumpers, making it a better start for him than his last two games.
Things slowed down considerably as the Sixers proceeded to go scoreless for the next three minutes. The first subs of the night being Reggie Jackson and Kyle Lowry (at the same time) was a bit puzzling, but this stretch was mostly just the Big 3 missing shots.
Embiid got rolling again to end his shift, but things flipped when he went to the bench and Wemby checked back in. The Spurs made their last three shots of the quarter to take a one-point lead after a low scoring first.
Second Quarter
While they did figure out ways to get points on the board, Wemby was absolutely feasting at the rim when Embiid was not in the game. He had seven blocks in the first half and six of them came in the stretch between the end of the first and beginning of the second.
Things got weird when he drew a couple of fouls on Andre Drummond trying to get loose on an inbound. The second of those fouls earned Drummond a tech. Wemby flopped on the next attempt at an inbound, but the ref saw him hit the deck and immediately hit Drummond with a second T, ejecting him. The play went under review and the call was reversed, allowing Drummond to come back into the game. Can’t say I’ve seen that one before!
That weirdness only continued when Wemby again went down trying to sell an offensive foul on Embiid and he successfully did. In the aftermath of it with the Sixers trying to review it, Embiid was given two fouls and was tossed. Irate, he made a beeline for the refs, chucking his mask in the process. Glad all the fans who came to see the refs tonight got their money’s worth.
Oh yeah, right, the game. Guerchson Yabusele and George immediately wiped away the points the Spurs got with those technical free throws with a pair of threes. They had a few good possessions to end the half, but Maxey got bottled up on the final one and took a shot clock violation. Still, the Sixers somehow ended that half up three.
The Sixers had a bit of a night with the officials trying to eject all of their centers.
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