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Resilient Spurs rebound in big way, roll to 123-96 dismantling of Sixers

The Silver and Black, who play at Orlando on Wednesday, end their six-game home stand 5-1.
Credit: Photo by Antonio Morano (bit.ly/XR79FT) / Special to KENS5.com
Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge blocks a shot by Sixers guard Ben Simmons in the first half of Monday night's game at the AT&T Center. Photo by Antonio Morano (bit.ly/XR79FT) / Special to KENS5.com

SAN ANTONIO – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has said it time and again: A team is always more motivated after a loss.

Embarrassed by a second-half collapse that cost them a victory against Chicago on Saturday, the Silver and Black bounced back with a resounding 123-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night at the AT&T Center.

"Our last game was a tough mental loss, but hopefully we learned a lot from it about being consistent and playing for 48 (minutes)," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

San Antonio led Chicago by 21 points two minutes into the third quarter, but the Bulls stormed back for a 98-93 victory. Down 62-43 at the half, Chicago outscored the Silver and Black 55-31 the last two periods to stop their run of four consecutive victories.

The Bulls had won only six games and had the second-worst record in the league heading into the game against San Antonio. Chicago also won without its leading scorer, Zach LaVine, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.

But Monday night was a different story for the Spurs (16-15). Rudy Gay scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan had 20 each to key the bounce-back win.

Aldridge finished with a double-double, getting a team-high 10 rebounds and adding three blocks. Davis Bertans came off the bench to score 16 points and was the only other San Antonio player in double figures. Bertans also had six rebounds, three assists and one steal.

"He is obviously a good shooter and has no conscience whatsoever, which is good," Popovich said of Bertans, who made 4 of 6 field-goal attempts. "At the other end, he's rebounding, he's guarding (and) making me put him on the floor because he is playing at that end also."

The Silver and Black, who finished their six-game home stand 5-1, play at Orlando on Wednesday night. The Sixers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, slipped to 20-12.

Popovich had good things to say about Gay's overall game.

"He's got a little spunk in his step," Popovich said. "He likes the group. He has worked hard to understand defensively and rebounding-wise what we want. And he can score."

Gay was asked after the game if he learned anything new about his team during the six-game home stand.

"Yeah, I mean we're resilient," said Gay, who hit 10 of 15 shots and added six rebounds, three assists and one block. "You know, last game we let it slip (away), and we knew today we had to come out with intensity for four quarters. And we did it. So, now we know we can do it. We have to do it more consistently."

DeRozan, who got his 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting, finished with six rebounds and a team-high seven assists.

What about the Spurs' ability to bounce back?

"Yeah, you've got to be able to," DeRozan said. "No one hates it more or feels worse than we do after we lose a game or we play terrible. So, we understand what we have to do and how we need to bounce back."

JJ Redick and Ben Simmons led the Philadelphia scoring with 16 points apiece. Joel Embid (13), Mike Muscala (11) and Wilson Chandler (10) rounded out the Sixers' double-figure scoring.

The Spurs, who had only six turnovers, shot 56.3 percent (49-87) and made 9 of 23 three-pointers. Philly shot only 40.8 percent, making 40 of 98 attempts. The Sixers were 29.7 percent (11-37) from beyond the arc.

"Whether it's the back-to-back or whatever, I give the Spurs credit," said Philadelphia coach Brett Brown, who won four NBA championship rings with the Silver and Black during two stints on Popovich's coaching staff. "We just didn't come with the spirit. You know, we really didn't."

Monday night's game was the third in four nights for the Sixers, who were coming off a 128-105 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

Led by Gay's scoring and a tough defense, the Spurs outscored the Sixers 33-22 in the third quarter and led 93-71 heading into the fourth period. Gay scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter.

"I think they are starting to figure out each other more than anything," Popovich said. "(Figuring out) who has got the mismatches out there, usually your best players look for those mismatches and our guys are starting to figure that out.

"Defensively, we've got a little bit more rhyme and reason to what we're doing and it has showed in this home stand. I'm pleased with the progress. We've still got a long way to go. We caught a break tonight. They had a tough schedule . . . They had three (games) in four nights or whatever it is, so we took advantage of that because it happens to all of us."

DeRozan scored 16 points and Aldridge and Bertans had 14 and 12, respectively, to help the Spurs take their 60-49 lead at the half. Trailing 32-29 after one quarter, the Silver and Black outscored the Sixers 31-17 in the second to take an 11-point lead at the intermission. Bertans came off the bench to nail 3 of 4 three-pointers.

The Spurs didn't take their first lead until Bryn Forbes drove into the teeth of the Philadelphia defense and scored on a layup, putting the Silver and Black up 37-36 with 8:38 left in the second quarter.

Embid (13), Reddick (11) and Simmons (10) scored in double figures for Philadelphia in the first half. The Sixers shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field and were only 26.7 (4-15) from the three-point line.

San Antonio played solid defense and had good, crisp execution on offense in the first two quarters. The Spurs shot 56.1 percent (23-41) in the first half and were 3 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Unlike Saturday's fiasco against the Bulls, there was no letdown by the Spurs in the second half.

"Every game is different," DeRozan said. "Every game is a new opportunity to redeem yourself and understand what you need to do to go out there and win. As long as we're right there, we understand that we can compete and beat anybody in this league."

After playing at Orlando on Wednesday, the Silver and Black host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The Timberwolves blew out the Spurs by 39 points in their first meeting Nov. 28 in Minneapolis. Orlando also got the best of San Antonio the first time they played this season, winning 117-110 on Nov. 4 at the AT&T Center.

"We love playing at home," DeRozan said. "Now we've got to be able to go on the road and be just as resilient. We've got to keep that in mind. As long we can keep both those elements together – win on the road, take care of home – we’ll be fine."

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