LOS ANGELES — Rudy Gay had 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the host San Antonio Spurs routed the Philadelphia 76ers 123-96 on Monday to win for the fifth time in six games.
The Spurs led by 12 at halftime but broke open the game in the middle of the third quarter via a 15-0 run that expanded their advantage to 79-53. Gay had 11 points in a period that allowed San Antonio to build as much as a 26-point lead and take a 93-71 cushion into the final 12 minutes.
The fourth quarter was all but academic, with the 76ers showing fatigue while playing the second game of a road back-to-back that started Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. The Spurs, meanwhile, were hitting on all cylinders, recovering from a Saturday loss to Chicago in which they led by 21 points midway through the third quarter.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 20 points and Davis Bertans added 16 for the Spurs. San Antonio outshot the 76ers 56.3 percent to 40.8 percent and made 16 of its 17 free throws.
JJ Redick and Ben Simmons led Philadelphia with 16 points each, while Joel Embiid added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Muscala scored 11 points and Wilson Chandler scored 10 for the 76ers, who have lost three of their past four games.
Philadelphia led throughout the first quarter by as many as nine points and still held a 36-32 advantage after a Jimmy Butler dunk with 10:40 to play in the second period. But that’s when the Spurs found their groove, rattling off an 9-0 run over the ensuing three minutes to pull ahead at 41-36. Bertans’ 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds to play in the quarter gave San Antonio a 60-49 lead entering the break.
DeRozan led all scorers with 16 points at the half.
SUNS SURGE PAST KNICKS
T.J. Warren scored 17 of his 26 points in a dominating third quarter and the Phoenix Suns opened a season-high five-game road trip by routing the New York Knicks in a 128-110 victory on Monday night.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 38 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury, but it was Warren who helped the Suns turn things around after halftime.
DeAndre Ayton had a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Josh Jackson (14 points) and Richaun Holmes (13) also finished in double figures for Phoenix.
Emmanuel Mudiay led the Knicks with 32 points while rookie Kevin Knox added 13 of his 17 points in the first quarter. Mario Hezonja (14 points), Enes Kanter (13) and Courtney Lee (12) also finished in double figures for New York, which was outscored, 66-59, after halftime.
Warren started off by missing five of his first six shots and had two points at halftime. He made 7 of 8 shots when the Suns blitzed the Knicks with a 41-17 third quarter. Warren hit three 3-pointers and dunked twice during the span.
The Suns never trailed after Warren knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:37 remaining to make it 82-79. Phoenix surged to its first double-digit lead at 93-83 on two free throws by Jackson with 1:41 left in the quarter and carried a 100-83 lead into the fourth.
The Suns’ Jamal Crawford set a career-high with 14 assists, eclipsing his previous career high of 12 set three times, most recently on March 15, 2005, with the Knicks.
The Knicks lost for the ninth time in 11 games and played without leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr., who was a late scratch with a sore right heel.
After falling well behind, the Knicks made a slight dent in the lead as a 9-0 run made it 109-95 on a 3-pointer by Hezonja with 7:11 left. Booker scored the next six points before Warren hit a 19-footer and a 3-pointer to make it 120-105 with 2:50 left. — Reuters
