SAN ANTONIO -- Brett Brown returned to his old stomping grounds with his team going in a new direction, but ended up with the same result. The shorthanded Sixers lost, 102-86, to the Spurs at AT&T Center on Thursday.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (left knee contusion), Robert Covington (right hand contusion) and Nerlens Noel (upper-respiratory infection). Gerald Henderson was available to play but was a DNP-coach’s decision. LaMarcus Aldridge (sore right knee) sat out for the Spurs after scoring 25 points on Tuesday against the Thunder.
“We’ve got nine guys,” Brown, a former Spurs assistant coach (2002-13), said before the game. “I think the real challenge when you look at the people that aren’t able to play tonight, they represent our best, or amongst our elite, defenders.”
As a result, Brown started T.J. McConnell, Nik Stauskas, Dario Saric (see below), Ersan Ilyasova and Jahlil Okafor against Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Davis Bertans and Dewayne Dedmon.
The Sixers held their own in the first half. They led the Spurs, 53-48, after the second quarter behind 42.6 percent field goal shooting and 66.7 percent from long range.
The Sixers jumped out by seven (60-53) early in the third, and that’s when the Spurs called a timeout that changed the course of the game. Shortly thereafter, the Spurs went on an 11-0 run to take a five-point advantage they never relinquished.
NBA
With the win, Popovich tied Jerry Sloan for most career wins with a single franchise (1,127).
Inside the box score
• Ilyasova led all players with a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double. He shot 8 for 17 from the field.
• Leonard finished below his season average but still put together 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. In that matchup, Saric scored 14 points with nine rebounds.
• Dedmon had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• Okafor posted nine points and nine rebounds as the starting center.
• David Lee neared a double-double (12 points, nine rebounds) off the bench. Bertans scored 10 points in the first half and finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Daunting task for Saric
Brown started Saric against Leonard because of his size (6-foot-9) and physicality. Saric, a natural power forward, knew he was in for a challenge. Leonard leads the Spurs with 25.6 points per game and, on the other end, is a consecutive Defensive Player of the Year winner.
“I have nothing to lose, if I can say like that,” Saric said pregame. “I can promise I give one hundred percent, I will try to fight, I will try to fight against every screen in a game. … I think for me it will be a tough game, especially on offense. I’m playing against a guy who’s maybe the best defender in the league.”
Checking on the boards
The Sixers tried to rebound — literally — from a lackluster performance on the glass against the Mavericks. They pulled down 48 rebounds, including nine by Okafor who had just one Wednesday night. Still, the Spurs outrebounded them with a massive 57 boards.
Up next
The Sixers will travel to Miami to play the Heat on Saturday. The Heat have won nine straight games and improved to 20-30.