Spurs suffer second home defeat as 76ers surge in 3rd Quarter.

Ben Simmons powered the 76ers with a career-high performance.

A see-saw game became a blowout after the third quarter whistled to a close, as the Philadelphia 76ers were led by a thunderous outing from Ben Simmons, a career-high 51 points to topple a previous high of 32 points. The Spurs fell apart in the third quarter, failing to bridge the gap of a 10-PT deficit at halftime. The Sixers won the second quarter 36-26, and the third 40-27, sealing the advantage and stunning the Texas crowd.

The fourth quarter would see the Spurs trim the lead to seven points, ultimately falling 117-126 after some late-game heroics by Patty Mills (19 points). Brandon Ingram notched 25 points, with 4 steals and making four 3PTers. T.J. Warren shined early, slashing his way toward 16 points. Iman Shumpert sparked the Spurs in the second quarter with 11 points in total. Joakim Noah (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block) seemed to stagger Joel Embiid (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) in the first half, but was exposed by Simmons (8 rebounds, 7 assists) on the fast break, unable to contain him.

Defensive excellence by Jimmy Butler (29 points, 5 steals, 2 blocks) stymied the Spurs tonight also, with Tobias Harris driving in for a baseline dunk on the other end of the court for 17 points.

Dejounte Murray started nicely, nabbing 4 steals on the ball, but still struggled to connect from long range. Despite shooting above 50% as a team, the Spurs were outmatched by Philly's 64% shooting and winning the glass by ten points, causing 11 turnovers by San Antonio.

Snapping a five-game win streak, Philly earned an impressive road victory tonight. In defeat, the Spurs managed some redemption by winning the 4th Quarter 37-23, but it was still not enough.