The Philadelphia 76ers (44-35) played the San Antonio Spurs (19-59) in their final road game of the 2023-24 regular season. With Joel Embiid resting on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sixers let an early lead slip but fought all the way back to get it to overtime. It took another OT for the Sixers to win 133-126.

Let’s break down the last game the 76ers will play away from the Wells Fargo Center until the postseason.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 52 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 19-41 FG shooting

Back to being the top option again, Maxey was good in spurts. He started to get going in the second quarter and recognized to begin the second half that he needed to pick it up, scoring 14 of Philly's 19 points in the third quarter. Outside of the arc, he came up empty a lot. But in the paint, even with the NBA's leader in blocks in his way, he was magnificent.

In the fourth quarter, he scored 18 points, hit what was one of the best buckets of his career and assisted what was a go-ahead bucket at the time and scored the game-tying layup.

The turbo button didn’t shut off in either overtime period, either, as he reached a new career-high in points and minutes.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 12-22 FG shooting

The 76ers can depend on Oubre to get shots up when Embiid and/or Maxey are out. It’s not always clear if the shots will be good or if he'll make them but both were the case in this game. In the first and fourth quarters, he gave Maxey someone he could rely on for supplemental scoring.

Spurs player notes:

Victor Wembanyama: 33 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 blocks, 11-20 FG shooting

Wembanyama already deters guys from even trying to get off shots in the paint, a sign of his outstanding defense that is more than just the product of his incredible height and wingspan. When he did get challenged — or even when someone tried to shoot over him — he got a piece of it and commanded the boards.

It's incomprehensible that Wemby is this good this quickly. The way he reads the floor and shots off the dribble is veteran-like. When he had to play against Embiid, his big night was overshadowed by Embiid's 70-burger. Even though a Sixer reached a career-high against his team and won again, his dominance was much more prominent.

Game recap:

Embiid was given the game off as the 76ers prioritized keeping them fresh for the rest of the homestretch. While it would have made more sense to have at least Embiid for this game — Wemby poses much more of a threat to lead his team to win as opposed to a Memphis Grizzlies team stripped almost down to the bone that Philly promptly dismantled — he does at least have multiple days to rest before the Sixers' next game.

Kyle Lowry was ruled out for load management, too. De'Anthony Melton and Robert Covington remained sidelined and Tobias Harris was inactive due to a left knee contusion for a third straight. game. The Spurs were without numerous players, including Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Cedi Osman.

1st half

Paul Reed matched up with Wembanyama and the Sixers cheated in on the paint, ready to help Reed contain the alien rookie. The Spurs wanted to get Wemby running to the rim for lob opportunities but the low man on defense helped out. Bball Paul held Wemby in check at first but the Spurs got some threes up and connected. But Reed picked up a pair of early fouls, sending Mo Bamba into the game. He was unable to deter a Wemby driving dunk on his first possession.

The Sixers forced turnovers and got out on fast breaks. Oubre hit his first five shots, including a bucket over Wemby from close range. He opted not to try a dunk as the big man chased him down, deciding instead to stay patient and shoot a floater that fell for two. His rebounding and playmaking off of drives also made him instantly impactful.

Philly went to a zone defense when Wemby subbed out. Jeff Dowtin Jr. got early minutes coming off the bench. Maxey didn’t exert himself too much to start but began to speed his way into points as the first quarter transitioned into the second. The Sixers' lead reached double figures as the All-Star guard zipped all around the court, left defenders in the dust and hit shots.

Just as Maxey was subbed out, Wembanyama checked back in with the task of stopping the Spurs' bleeding. As the spark for an 8-0 run, he did just that. His playmaking was a huge part of that even though he didn’t record an assist. He hit Sandro Mamukelashvili on a backdoor cut that Reed failed to contest cleanly, giving him his third foul. San Antonio reclaimed the lead with a furious 15-2 run.

Maxey came back into the game to stabilize the Sixers. But the Spurs were not ready to relinquish the momentum. They lit Philly up from downtown and Wemby put the clamps on defensively. All of a sudden, the young Sprus had flipped the script and put the Sixers in a hole with their starting center in foul trouble.

At halftime, the 76ers trailed 64-54.

2nd half

Maxey started to get going, sneaking a layup past Wemby by freezing him with an in-and-out dribble. As great as Wemby was, Maxey didn’t let him change the way he played. For as tough as he was to stop, the 76ers defense didn’t help him out (though he certainly shared some culpability). They weren’t super sharp in transition and allowed one-on-one matchups to burn them.

The Sixers had a shot to draw even with Wemby taking a rest and Maxey staying on the floor. But they couldn’t pull away, coming up empty on offense when someone other than Maxey looked to make a play. Philly was down by seven when Wemby sat and remained down by seven at the end of the third quarter.

Ricky Council IV got some minutes in the fourth quarter and Oubre provided some transition buckets as the Sixers tried to hang on. Maxey zigged and zagged through the defense to get his own tough scores. The Spurs took Wembanyama out for a quick break with eight minutes left and then lost Keldon Johnson to an ankle injury. The 76ers cut down the deficit from eight to four by the time Wemby came back in. Maxey finished on a circus-shot layup and hit the free throw to make it a one-point game.

Maxey attempted to summit Mount Wemby but was turned away, watching his shot go careening off of Wemby's arms and turning into a fastbreak dunk for Malaki Branham. Then Oubre tried and was given the same result: a block that led to a bucket for Branham. Maxey came back down with answers to Spurs buckets, bringing the game to two with 30 seconds left. The Spurs sent two defenders to Maxey and he hit Nico Batum for an open three. Boom boom.

Reed was called for his sixth foul on a reach against Wemby with eight seconds left. KJ Martin subbed in and Batum guarded Wemby. He got the ball in the post and swung it out to former Sixer Julian Champagnie, who drilled the corner three. The Sixers tied the game up with Maxey getting a backcourt screen and Batum dropping a pass right into the bucket for a layup. Free basketball!

Overtime

Both sides traded buckets in the opening minutes of overtime. They each came up empty on chances to win it in the final seconds, taking it into double overtime. Maxey reached a new career-high with a pair of free throws but Devonte' Graham put the Spurs up by three with a clutch triple. Council finished a reverse layup around Wemby and hit the free throw to tie it up.

The Spurs had started switching Wemby onto Maxey, deterring his pull-up shooting but inviting blow-bys. Wemby was whistled for goaltending on a Maxey layup but it was overturned after a challenge. Council couldn’t get Maxey the ball on a hand-off and took it himself, drawing a foul and hitting the free throws. Then Council whipped a mid-air pass to Batum for a corner three. Then Martin stole the ball and finished an alley-oop from Oubre in transition. The Sixers led by seven with just over a minute left.

Council tipped a pass to Maxey on the next Spurs possession as the Sixers held on to win and advance to seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Assorted observations:

  • Philly initially announced a smaller starting lineup featuring Maxey, Oubre, Reed, Cam Payne and Buddy Hield. Then, Batum was swapped back in at the last second for Hield. Curious! A guess as to what happened: Batum was about to be made active but only as an inbounder but then felt good enough to play and claimed his typical spot in the starting lineup.
  • Because the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat earlier, the Sixers had the chance to jump back into seventh place in the East with a win. Thanks to old pal T.J. McConnell's 22 points on 11-14 shooting, Philly had the chance to climb up in the standings. It took forever but they did it.

The 76ers' three-game homestand to close out the regular season starts on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.