NBA: Spurs staggered, but recover to beat 76ers

The San Antonio Spurs saw their big lead melt away, but their starters returned just in time to preserve a 90-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

San Antonio improved to 32-11, and stretched their win streak to five games, while the 76ers were set back to 17-24.

The home team never led through the first three quarters, as the Spurs took control right from the get-go, doubling up on their foes early on, 16-8. Then in the second, an 11-2 run by San Antonio gave them their biggest lead of the game, 17 points, at 43-26, 4:02 left in the first half.

Philadelphia recovered after the break, scoring 12 unanswered points to get within four, 53-49, courtesy of a triple by Spencer Hawes. However, the Spurs countered by smothering them for nearly three minutes, to reestablish their double-digit advantage, 61-49, on an and-one play by Tony Parker.

That was not enough though to dissuade Philadelphia though, which used an 18-2 run over the third and fourth quarters to snatch the lead, 77-73, 8:29 left to play. Tim Duncan nailed a fadeaway for just the Spurs' third and fourth points of the final quarter, 6:41 left, but Thaddeus Young countered with back-to-back hits for the home team's biggest lead, 82-75, 5:40 remaining.

A dunk and a triple by sophomore Kawhi Leonard knotted things for San Antonio, 82-all, 2:25 remaining, and then a Tim Duncan turnaround gave them the lead for good, 84-82. Jrue Holiday scattered three points to make it a three-point game with 15.9 seconds left on the clock, 88-85, but Tony Parker and Boris Diaw both split at the line, to put things away.

Tim Duncan paced the Spurs with a vintage double-double outing, 24 points and 17 rebounds, in addition to five assists and two steals. Tony Parker added 20 points and eight assists, while Kawhi Leonard scored 16 on 6-of-13 shooting.

Evan Turner led Philadelphia with 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven dimes, while big man Spencer Hawes came off the bench for 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young produced 15 and 14 markers, respectively.

The Spurs were helped out by their repeated trips to the foul line, getting a 26-11 edge in free throws. - AMD, GMA News