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San Antonio Spurs’ David Lee (10) hangs on the rim after a dunk past Philadelphia 76ers’ Robert Covington (33) and Dario Saric (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
San Antonio Spurs’ David Lee (10) hangs on the rim after a dunk past Philadelphia 76ers’ Robert Covington (33) and Dario Saric (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in
With Winter Storm Niko bearing down on the Northeast, the Spurs were just hoping to get in and out of Philadelphia without incident.
The 76ers were not so keen on letting them do so.
Despite playing without presumptive Rookie of the Year Joel Embiid, the Sixers stuck to the Spurs all night at the Wells Fargo Center.
It took another stunning performance from Kawhi Leonard for the Spurs to escape with a 111-103 victory.
Leonard returned from a one-game absence (quad contusion) to lead all scorers with 32 points. It was his 16th 30-point performance of the season, seventh-most in the NBA.
Even with Leonard rolling, the Spurs could not shake Brett Brown’s feisty Sixers.
The Spurs (40-12) left their shooting woes behind in Memphis, only to find themselves plagued by a new set of problems in Philadelphia.
Despite shooting a solid 52.7 percent, including 50 percent from deep – a complete reversal from Monday’s frosty outing – the Spurs could never put together any sort of spirit-crushing run largely due to the fact that they kept giving away possessions.
Philadelphia turned 15 Spurs turnovers in 20 points, using those miscues to cut a 13-point lead down to two with 7:35 remaining in the game.
The Spurs outscored the Sixers 24-18 from that point on. Leonard accounted for eight of the team’s 24 points and Tony Parker had seven. Most importantly, they turned the ball over just once during that game-sealing run.
LaMarcus Aldridge (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Dewayne Dedmon (10 points, 11 rebounds) both collected double-doubles, while Parker finished with 18 points and five assists.
Sixers big men Jahlil Okafor and Dario Saric scored 20 apiece. Robert Covington finished with 18 points, while Nik Stauskas went for 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Spurs’ rodeo road trip continues Friday in Detroit.
nmoyle@express-news.net
Twitter: @NRmoyle
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