Watching the Spurs Wednesday night was like watching where the Sixers are trying to get to.
Both teams want to take smart, high-percentage shots; both teams want to play intense, suffocating defense; both teams want big contributions off their bench; both teams want to attack the boards.
Wednesday night, the Spurs did all of that a little more efficiently and a little more productively than the Sixers.
Theyre just a little better, Elton Brand said. We both like to do the same things, but they did them just a little bit better tonight.
They like to play fundamentally sound offensively, defensively and play off other teams mistakes and tonight they executed better than we did.
Tony Parker scored 37 points -- the most by an opposing player at the Wells Fargo Center in six years -- ageless Tim Duncan added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs rallied behind an 18-6 third-quarter run and beat the Sixers, 100-90.
Parkers 37 points matched the most by an opposing player here since Mike Bibby scored 41 in a game in 2006.
NBA
Can the Sixers ever get to the level the perennially elite Spurs are at now?
In like 12 years or something like that, Lou Williams said with a laugh.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 4-2 in their tortuous seven-game stretch against teams with winning records. That stretch ends back here Friday with a game against the Clippers.
We make a mistake, they know how to capitalize on it, Jrue Holiday said. They execute very well. They know what they can do and what they cant do. I think thats pretty tough to guard.
Parker made all 13 of his foul shots and added eight assists.
Tony Parker was amazing tonight, to say the least, Sixers coach Doug Collins said. Thirty-seven and eight. He had that ball on a string, and we were trying our best to keep him corralled, make him shoot jump shots, and we just never could get him under control.
The Spurs, with four NBA championships since 1999, all under Gregg Popovich, and 12 straight 50-win seasons, are one of the NBAs elite franchises. They improved to 18-9 Wednesday with their sixth straight win.
Thats a world-championship team and organization, Collins said. This is a team, when you make a mistake, you will pay dearly for it. They know where to attack you. Theyve seen it all. Theyve seen every defense, and I have great admiration for them. ... Theyre playing great basketball right now.
The Sixers had won four straight and nine of their last 11 at home against the Spurs, a streak that dated back to 2000.
Our history here is really bad, Parker said. So its a huge win for us.
The Spurs are now 15-7 without Manu Ginobli, who has missed 22 games with a fractured hand. Hes due back for their game Saturday against the Nets.
Those guys have been together so long, Brand said. Fundamentally, theyre just so sound. They know where to be, they know how to score, they know how to get the easy baskets, and thats what it came down to tonight. They capitalized on every mistake we made tonight.
The Sixers, playing again without center Spencer Hawes, had their hands full with Duncan, the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer. Duncan, now in his 15th year with the Spurs, had 16 points and 11 boards and helped limit Sixers rookie big men Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen to two combined points on 1-for-11 shooting.
Our big guys had a tough night, Collins said.
Despite everything -- a 26-11 foul-line disparity, 41 percent shooting from the field, 1-for-5 shooting from Jodie Meeks, limited production from their rookie pivot players and four turnovers and no points in 14 minutes from Vucevic -- the Sixers hung around.
There were 11 lead changes and seven ties before Parker scored seven points in an 18-6 Spurs run that turned a 51-50 Sixers lead 1 12 minutes into the third quarter into a 68-57 Spurs lead with two minutes left in the period.
The Sixers closed to within five at 83-78 early in the fourth but got no closer.
We made some shots and had a good run there defensively, which fueled the offense a little bit, Popvich said. Tony and Tim have been great down the stretch. They led the way.
Lou Williams followed up his 24-point performance against the Lakers on Monday with 22 points, making him the first Sixer this year with consecutive games of at least 22 points.
Andre Iguodala shot well again (7 for 12) and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Holiday shot 6 for 15 for 15 points and seven assists, and Thaddeus Young (16 and nine) and Brand (11 and 13) both played very well.
We started off the third quarter well, they just made a run there late, and their pick-and-roll hurt us, and we couldnt contain it, and they got what they wanted, Iguodala said. They have two great players running it in Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, and even their bench guys did a good job.
Gary Neal was tremendous off the bench for the Spurs, with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, 4 for 4 from three, six assists and five boards. Tiago Splitter added 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting in just 17 minutes off the bench.
We stuck with it, Duncan said. It was consistency all the way through. Throughout the entire game, we played the same way. They made some shots in the second and third quarter to get them back into it, but we stuck with it. We got ourselves a little lead, and we hit some shots down the stretch to pull away.
The Sixers fell to 18-8 overall and 13-4 at home and saw their lead over the idle Celtics in the Atlantic Division reduced to three games. The Celtics have won five straight and nine of 10.
Veteran team, Williams said. They execute. I think we can learn a lot from a team like that.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com.