On a game that followed a patter that is all too familiar this season, the Spurs played a superior opponent well, had a chance to win it in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up short. On Sunday, it was the 76ers who closed stronger and got a 115-109 win, largely thanks to a 38-points, 12-rebounds, six-assist performance from their franchise center.
The Sixers had the Spurs on the back foot from the start, which is an advantage that having a generational star like Joel Embiid affords a team. San Antonio was sending help as soon as the All-NBA big man was putting the ball on the floor, but it wasn’t enough to fully contain him and it was affording others the opportunity to get easy buckets.