SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 yesteday, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
“Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,” Harden said. “But you’ve got to still be professional. You’ve got to be an elite team. That’s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren’t consistent enough tonight.
“We got a win, but we’ve got to try to be better overall.”
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Thursdday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio’s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends February 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia’s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in three minutes to seal the victory. “A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,” Poeltl said. “Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.”
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, two for three on three-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes.
Named an All-Star reserve on Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games. Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers.
