Monday night marked the first ever matchup in NBA history between a team on a 10 or more game winning streak and a team on a 20 or more game losing streak. The ending was about as predictable as the trends going into the game would suggest, as San Antonio defeated Philadelphia 113-91 to hand the 76ers their 25th consecutive loss.
Austin Dayne dropped 22 points off the bench to lead all scorers. He shot 6-for-10 beyond the arc and really came as a surprise in the box score given his average of two points per game since being acquired from Toronto. Brett Brown chalked it up to a product of the Spurs’ system, one he knows too well and is trying to create in Philadelphia.
"He's lucky," Brown said, "and I've seen this over so many years — people can come into that system and shine. This system creates opportunities for everybody, and he took advantage of those. The attention you have to give others and the movement that they have in their structure allowed him to get freed up a lot.
He can only hope that the building in Philadelphia can create that. As the Sixers’ losing streak continues to build, the goal to which they are building seems to be even more in the distance. But Tim Duncan reminded that it is all a process. The losing streak is just a step in the big picture.
"Obviously, it's a rough season for them," Duncan said. "It's a rebuilding season for them. [Brown] knows that, they know that. They have a lot of young guys. He's just trying to get the system in place that has them playing the way he wants them playing. It's a process. He knows that."
Duncan knows as well as anyone having the system in place can lead to big things. In addition to Dayne, Patty Mills and Cory Joseph each reached double-digits in scoring to help the Spurs handle business as well.
Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young each led the Sixers with 19 points. Byron Mullens added 15 points off the bench. The Spurs did not play Tony Parker, Danny Green or Tiago Splitter. They each received rest against the helpless Sixers team.
