(Sports Network) - Tim Duncan should be back in the lineup Monday for the San
Antonio Spurs when they invade the City of Brotherly Love to take on the
Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
Duncan, a future Hall of Famer, did not play in Saturday's 98-93 win at
Atlanta for precautionary reasons and is averaging 17.3 points and 9.6
rebounds this season.
The Spurs are still without Manu Ginobili due to a balky hamstring, but got 23
points and 12 assists from Tony Parker in the win over the Hawks. Matt Bonner
posted a season-best 17 points and Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter scored 14
points apiece for San Antonio, which halted a three-game road losing streak
and won for the 13th time in 16 tries.
"It was a hard-fought victory where we did it basically with our defense,"
said Bonner. "We didn't have the best of nights shooting the ball. We just had
to come up with some big stops throughout the game, and that's how we got it
done."
San Antonio is 14-9 on the road and tied for first in the NBA with 32 wins,
joining the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Spurs will
return to the Alamo City Wednesday for a showdown with the New Orleans
Hornets.
Philadelphia has won two of its last three games and recorded a 108-101
overtime victory versus the Toronto Raptors Friday night. Jrue Holiday scored
all 12 of the Sixers' points in overtime and finished with 33 points, 14
assists and three steals. He sent the game into OT on a layup with 1.1 seconds
remaining in regulation.
Holiday is a possible candidate for the East's All-Star reserves, but getting
the win was more important.
"Even though being an All-Star would be awesome, winning is more important
than individual accolades," Holiday said.
Thaddeus Young chipped in 27 points, 14 boards and three steals for the
Sixers, who are still just 3-8 in their last 11 games and 11-9 at home, where
they are playing 12 of 13 games. Young has six double-doubles in his last 14
games and is averaging 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in 2012-13.
Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen tallied 12 points apiece for the Sixers, who
shot 51.6 percent from the field. 76ers guard Jason Richardson (knee) is
questionable for Monday and scored seven points on Friday. The first-year
Sixer is averaging 10.5 ppg.
The Sixers were pounded by the Spurs, 109-86, on Jan. 5 this season at the
AT&T Center and have lost three straight and 13 of the last 20 meetings. San
Antonio, though, has lost five of seven contests in south Philly.
The Sports Network