Instant Replay: Spurs 113, Sixers 91

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SAN ANTONIO -- Sixers head coach Brett Brown received some friendly greetings in his return to San Antonio, but all the warmth was gone once the game started against the Spurs.

The Sixers lost their 25th straight, with an early run at success giving way to a lopsided 113-91 loss to the veteran Spurs on Monday.

Brown served as an assistant under San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich for seven seasons prior to being named the Sixers' head coach this past offseason.

It was the Sixers' ninth straight loss to the Spurs and their sixth straight in San Antonio. The Sixers dropped both games to San Antonio this season by a combined 46 points.

Turning point
Success proved to be the Sixers' downfall.

Elliot Williams’ dunk over Tim Duncan tied the game at 19 all, leading Popovich to call timeout with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Whatever “advice” the fiery Spurs coach gave his team resulted in the Spurs going on a 26-5 tear, capped by a 19-0 run.

Byron Mullens’ three-pointer ended a six-and-half-minute drought, but San Antonio had a 45-27 lead and would never trail by less than 10 points the remainder of the game.

Follow the leader
Seldom-used Austin Daye led San Antonio with 22 points, going 6 for 10 on three-pointers in falling six points shy of his career high. Duncan had 19 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes while sitting out the fourth quarter.

Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams scored 17 points each and Mullens added 15 points for the Sixers.

Taking a break
San Antonio sat starters Tony Parker, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter.

Stat-egic
The Sixers only had seven players score, and six of those were in double figures.

Put me in coach
After averaging just 2.3 minutes while seeing action in only four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, Daye played 29 minutes in the victory. He finished 8 for 13 from the field and had six rebounds.

Quotable
Popovich was asked prior to the game if he felt bad for Brown, who he described as “one of my best friends.”

“I feel terribly for him, but I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel badly for him because he has to go through it, but I don’t need to feel sorry for him. He would be angry if he knew I felt sorry for him because he doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him.”

What’s next?
A date with infamy?

The Sixers will get to enjoy a little sun before facing the Houston Rockets on Thursday in the second game of a Texas two-step.

A loss in Houston would be the 26th straight for the Sixers, matching the dubious league record set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-2011 for most consecutive losses.

The Rockets rolled to a 100-89 victory over Charlotte on Monday night, their fourth straight win.

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