Coming off a win versus the Portland Trail Blazers, the Spurs were looking to build on their win streak versus the Philadelphia 76ers. What followed was a wild game! In the second quarter, Andre Drummond was ejected, but then his ejection was rescinded after referees determined that it was an overreaction to a flop by Victor Wembanyama. Joel Embiid was then ejected for arguing with a ref. Despite this, the Spurs could not go on a run to take the lead until late in the fourth. After the Spurs went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to one, the game was a back-and-forth affair between the Spurs and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey was matching each clutch Spurs shot with one of his own, but the Spurs actually had the ball up by one with just over a minute remaining. However, Julian Champagnie threw a lazy pass to Chris Paul that got intercepted by Maxey. Maxey proceeded to posterize Champagnie for the and-one. Even though Maxey missed the free throw, Champagnie got the rebound and fell asleep assessing who to pass the ball to as Guerschon Yabusele stole the ball. Maxey hit a clutch dagger three over Jeremy Sochan, and the Spurs never recovered. The Spurs ultimately lost 121-116.
Victor Wembanyama had a near triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight blocks. He also had four assists. Even though he had a great game, you would like to see him attack the paint when the 76ers’ two centers are unavailable.
One of Wemby’s eight blocks came in the first quarter which led to fantastic Spurs ball movement resulting in a Wemby assist to Jeremy for two!
Coast to coast! Wemby grabs the board and hands it off to Stephon Castle who feeds him on the alley-oop SLAM!
How about closing out the quarter by swatting two shots in three seconds? The victims: Kyle Lowry and known San Antonio hater Caleb Martin.
Wemby to Sochan Part 1: Driving into the paint, Wemby lobs to Sochan for the easy dunk!
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 24, 2024
Wemby drained six threes in the game, including this bullseye from the corner!
Wemby to Sochan Part 2: No, this is not the same clip. Wemby lobs this bad boy from the top key for Sochan the Destroyer again!
Stephon Castle had a solid game with 17 points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 13 minutes. With his hot start, you obviously would love to see him get more playing time with this new rotation. However, foul trouble played a part.
Let’s revisit that Wemby alley-oop slam from Castle. Talk about right place, right time!
AND-ONE! Castle shows the patience getting into the paint and draws the foul on KJ Martin for the and-one finish!
Jeremy Sochan dropped 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Jeremy fills his spot on the fastbreak and is the recipient of excellent Spurs ball movement!
Revisited Part 1: You should not leave Jeremy this wide open under the rim.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 24, 2024
Revisited Part 2: the Sixers fell asleep on Jeremy AGAIN. Moving without the ball has to be one of Jeremy’s best skills.
Julian Champagnie dropped 15 on five threes, eight rebounds, an assist, and a block. All of his threes came in the fourth, including this laser after getting Kelly Oubre Jr. to bite on the pump fake!
Chris Paul dropped 12 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Here, he owns Paul George by recovering and nailing the clutch shot to beat the shot clock buzzer!
Keldon Johnson dropped four points, two assists, and a rebound. Two of his points came on a POSTER SLAM on Andre Drummond!
This was a wild game that resulted in a disappointing loss. The Spurs showed resilience by coming back in the fourth and taking the lead, but late-game miscues will separate the great teams from the striving to be great teams. Especially considering the Sixers’ best player was ejected in the second quarter, this one definitely got away from the Silver and Black.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
The Spurs take on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day at 11 AM (CST) on ESPN/ABC.
