SAN ANTONIO – Over the course of their first two games inside the NBA bubble, the Spurs have flirted with fire. Both of their contests against the Kings and Grizzlies went down to the wire.
On Monday night, San Antonio got burned.
A little over 24 hours after their nail-biting 108-106 victory over Memphis, the Spurs again found themselves in a tight game with the 76ers, but this time a fourth-quarter rally wasn’t enough to secure the victory. Shake Milton gave Philadelphia a one-point lead by draining a wide-open three-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to play, and Jakob Poeltl’s last-second shot attempt was no good, as San Antonio lost their first game in Orlando, 132-130. The Spurs’ overall record falls to 29-37.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, San Antonio pieced together a furious rally thanks to DeMar DeRozan, who scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the final frame. DeRozan has now scored double-digit points in every game since the restart. His layup with 1:03 left on the clock appeared to give the Spurs enough of a cushion to close the game out, but Philadelphia outscored San Antonio 7-1 in the final minute of play. Rudy Gay added 24 points off the bench, while Derrick White (20), Keldon Johnson (15) and Dejounte Murray (13) all finished in double figures as well.
Playing like a man possessed.@DeMar_DeRozan | #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/q3Vwit8mn8
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) August 4, 2020
Joel Embiid led the way for 76ers with 27 points. Tobias Harris added 25.
The loss drops San Antonio to 10th in the Western Conference standings by virtue of a tiebreaker with the 9th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. The Spurs are now two games behind the Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot. Memphis lost their game against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday afternoon, 109-99. Portland will play the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
San Antonio will look to bounce back this Wednesday when they take on the Denver Nuggets. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.