Leonard Scores 32, Spurs Beat Sixers 111-103
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points, Tony Parker added 18 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 111-103 on Wednesday night.
Jahlil Okafor had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Dario Saric also scored 20 for Philadelphia, which has lost five straight games.
The Sixers were again without star center Joel Embiid. The rookie missed his sixth straight game because of a left knee contusion.
Philadelphia is 13-18 with Embiid, 5-16 without him.
The Spurs bounced back following a loss at Memphis and improved the NBA's second-best record to 40-12.
After trailing the entire game, the Sixers pulled within 87-85 on a pair of free throws by Okafor with 7:35 left. But San Antonio went on a 16-5 run to put it away.
Danny Green's 3-pointer made it 103-92 with 2:14 to go and sent fans to the exits.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Dewayne Dedmon added 10 points and 11 boards.
After the Spurs took a 13-point lead on Leonard's 3-pointer late in the second quarter, the Sixers closed out the half on a 9-3 run to get within seven at 58-51. Dario Saric started it with a 3 and Nik Stauskas hit two in a row from beyond the arc.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Leonard was back in the lineup after missing one game because of a quad contusion. He has now scored in double figures in 81 straight games — the longest such streak by a Spurs player since Tim Duncan's 91 straight in 2002-03. ... Coach Gregg Popovich said Sixers coach Brett Brown is the "most incredible positive force I've ever been around." Brown was a longtime assistant under Popovich before coming to Philadelphia in 2013. ... They shot 62.9 percent (22 of 35) in the first half.
76ers: Embiid is expected to miss at least one more game. "He's coming along fine. We're just moving slowly, wisely," Brown said. ... No.
1 overall pick Ben Simmons is getting closer to making his NBA debut, but Brown doesn't have a set date. He said Simmons needs five full practices before he plays his first game. ... F Richaun Holmes didn't play because of an upper respiratory infection. ... The developmental league's Delaware 87ers signed three-time NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson.
ROPIN' SADDLE
The Spurs are two games into their 15th annual rodeo road trip, when the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo takes over the AT&T Center. The Spurs will play eight games in seven cities, traveling 7,378 miles. They are 83-36 on the rodeo trip.
IN DA HOUSE
Four-time NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace, a Philly native, was at the game. Director M. Night Shyamalan sat courtside with actor Bryan Cranston.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
76ers: Play at Orlando on Thursday night.
