Joel Embiid scores 33 points as Sixers top pesky Spurs to begin road swing

SAN ANTONIO — James Harden practically pushed Joel Embiid off the floor and to the 76ers’ bench. The big man had just hit the floor attempting to save an offensive rebound with his team up by a comfortable margin in the waning minutes.

Embiid had done enough to finish off a run-of-the-mill victory, tallying 33 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists as the Sixers topped the San Antonio Spurs, 137-125, Friday night at the AT&T Center.

“We had some good spurts, but we need to do it the whole game,” Embiid said. “Pretty good win, and we move on.”

It was the Sixers’ ninth win in their last 10 games to push their record to 34-17. Yet San Antonio, which lost its eighth consecutive game, hung around for much of the contest — and forced Sixers coach Doc Rivers to reinsert his starters after he had gone deep into his bench — because of their 58.4% field-goal shooting. That largely kept up on a night when the Sixers connected on 52.9% of their shots, including 13-of-27 from three-point range.

After the game, Rivers lamented the number of times Spurs players beat their defender off the dribble and got downhill, resulting in a whopping 80 points in the paint. It was the latest slippage for a Sixers defense that ranks in the top 10 in the NBA in efficiency this season at 111.5 points allowed per 100 possessions but is just 23rd in that category over its past 15 games (117.1 points allowed per 100 possessions).

“If we are as good as we think we are, tonight should have been a three-quarter game,” Embiid said. “That’s why we need to be locked in from the beginning and show that we have enough lead to make sure the starters don’t play the fourth.”

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers is ‘shocked’ James Harden not named an All-Star, calls for coaches’ votes to be public

Embiid, fresh off being named to his sixth consecutive All-Star team, went 10-of-18 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. Teammate Tyrese Maxey, meanwhile, rebounded from a tough shooting performance during Wednesday’s victory over the Orlando Magic to score 25 points on 8-of-15 from the floor.

“I was kind of down of myself or in a funk or whatever those last two games,” Maxey said. “But being able to talk to [my parents] and then just being able to go back out there and play with a smile on my face [was important].

“I don’t think I was playing with joy, and that affects our team and I can’t do that in the long run.”

The decisive push by the Sixers came at the end of the third quarter. After a Zach Collins finish inside got the Spurs within 94-85, the Sixers answered with a 12-2 run capped by a Georges Niang corner three-pointer. That advantage eventually extended to 23 points on a pair of free throws by Shake Milton early in the fourth. San Antonio never got closer than 10 after that.

The Sixers initially created distance in the second quarter, when they exploded for 47 points and led by as many as 17. Embiid scored 11 of his points during the period’s final six minutes, including a one-handed alley-oop finish off a high-arcing pass from James Harden.

The Sixers next play two consecutive road games, starting Sunday at the New York Knicks followed by Wednesday at the Boston Celtics.

The Sixers’ second unit finished with 67 points and was instrumental in seizing control of the game before halftime and in stretching the lead to an insurmountable margin following the break. In addition to Maxey’s performance, Milton finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, and Niang had 13 points on 3-of-5 from long range. Maxey credited playing at a fast pace with unlocking that group during their minutes together.

“That’s what we’re going to need from them,” Harden said.

Thirteen of the second unit’s 34 first-half points came from Maxey, who made three of his six shots from the floor, was aggressive in drawing fouls, and went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Rivers also went with an all-bench look in the second half with repeat success. Those reserves scored every point in the Sixers’ surge to end the third quarter.

The coach then started to empty his bench about midway through the final period, subbing in Paul Reed and Danuel House Jr. But that attempt at giving starters extra rest was short-lived, as Embiid, Harden, and Tobias Harris returned when that lead dwindled to 10 points with about five minutes to play.

“Which I absolutely hate,” Rivers said.

» READ MORE: This time, the Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle is not stressing at the trade deadline

In his first game since his All-Star snub, Harden finished with 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting and eight assists.

He started 2-of-6 from the floor, before hitting a three-pointer from the top that pushed the Sixers’ lead to 85-71 and prompted a Spurs timeout. Then, with just under four minutes remaining in the fourth, Harden buried a step-back three at the end of the shot clock to give his team a 128-112 advantage. Just 46 seconds later, he drew a foul outside the three-point arc and went 2-of-3 from the stripe.

He also shouldered a brief injury scare, when he appeared to injure his arm when he fell to the floor on a driving finish late in the second quarter. After Maxey helped him up, Harden walked straight through the tunnel that led to the visitors’ locker room.