The Philadelphia 76ers roared home against the San Antonio Spurs to escape with a 122-120 comeback win at Wells Fargo Center.
Ben Simmons recorded his eighth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, while Joel Embiid led the team in scoring with 33 points and 19 rebounds, leading the defensive charge down the stretch.
San Antonio held an eight-point lead with 2:48 remaining after Marco Bellinelli's three-pointer went down, but the 76ers leaned on their defence, holding the Spurs scoreless for the remainder of the game as they closed things out on a 10-0 run, thanks to some BIG shots from JJ Redick and Landry Shamet.
"Yeah I think we're getting a lot better at closing out games," Simmons said post-game. "I think our chemistry's getting a lot better and everyone's really buying in and stepping up"
Shamet drained a three to pull the 76ers within three, after Wilson Chandler's block on DeMar DeRozan kick-started the fast-break, before Redick connected on a four-point play to put the 76ers up 121-120.
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT! pic.twitter.com/j6np6iKeZ4
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 24, 2019
After Corey Brewer went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line to give the 76ers a 122-120 lead with 1.1 seconds remaining, the Spurs had a chance to get a shot off, but Simmons draped himself over Belinelli, poking away the inbounds pass to seal the W.
After struggling to close out games in the past, Simmons was enthused by the 76ers' focus down the stretch against a tough San Antonio team.
"I think just staying calm under pressure," Simmons credited as the key late in the game. "I think we showed a lot of that and I think everybody really stepped up and knocked down shots when it mattered and defensively made plays."
2️⃣1️⃣ points
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 24, 2019
1️⃣5️⃣ assists
1️⃣0️⃣ rebounds
8️⃣th triple-double of the season
🇦🇺 @BenSimmons25 stuffed the stat sheet against the #Spurs pic.twitter.com/f1b91m6zP1
Redick finished with 19 points on the night, while Shamet added 14. Rookie Jonah Bolden made the most of his 11 minutes on court, scoring seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, coming up with this awesome sequence of play that had the home crowd on their feet.
WHAT A SEQUENCE!
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 24, 2019
🇦🇺 @Jonahbolden43 blocks it TWICE and then throws it down on the other end 🙌 #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/Zsijq4ZAVl
DeRozan led the Spurs with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Patty Mills added 17 – they were two of seven Spurs to score in double-figures on the night.