Devin Vassell and Chris Paul leveraged great three-point shooting nights to give San Antonio an early lead that it had to fight to re-gain in the closing minutes | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images The closing quintet of Vassell, Sochan, Castle, Barnes, and Johnson turned back a h ungry young Sixers group for the uplifting win A crunch-time line-up that saw Chris Paul confined to the bench and was led by Rookie of the Year favorite Stephon Castle closed out the game on a 24-8 run, including a Castle deflection and transition lay-up to ice the win. The Spurs’ late heroics was in response to the Sixers’ 43-27 third quarter flourish that threatened to undo San Antonio’s 64-52 halftime lead and send them to defeat. San Antonio received a healthy outpouring of outside shooting from Devin Vassell (20 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals - four first-half threes) early and Chris Paul (18 points and 4 rebounds - six second-half threes) late paired with a well-rounded effort from Jeremy Sochan (23 points and 9 rebounds). Castle had 17 points and 14 assists and played a pivotal role in victory. Guerschon Yabusele (23 points and 79rebounds) and Knicks’ castoff Quentin Grimes (25 points and 10 assists) spearheaded a second-half comeback for Philadelphia by connecting from all over the floor. Justin Edwards (25 points and 5 rebounds) quietly also had a productive night. Off the bench, Ricky Council IV (20 points and 8 rebounds) knocked down shot-after-shot in the second half during his team’s comeback. A barebones Sixers lineup (without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Jared McCain) turned San Antonio’s script of generously sharing the ball and shot allotment on them in the first quarter to stake themselves to a 17-8 lead. Vassell’s hot shooting allowed the Spurs to catch up quickly, as Philadelphia could not find a go-to scorer late in the opening frame. Blake Wesley impressed with his overall aggressiveness, and San Antonio left the quarter up 28-26. The Spurs surged ahead in the second quarter with better shooting and limiting second-chance opportunities for Philadelphia. San Antonio did commit a series of heinous turnovers which the Sixers converted into meaningful transition opportunities. Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele lit up the scorebook for their team to keep the Sixers within 7-12 points throughout the frame. The Spurs’ 10-for-20 shooting from distance put them up 64-52 at the half. Paul turned back the hands of time to his New Orleans days to knock down a handful of threes and put the Spurs up as much as 16. No other San Antonio players stepped up, though, and Yabusele and Grimes continued their scoring prowess deep into the stanza to get the deficit down to five. Outside of field goals from Vassell and Julian Champagnie, the Spurs could not re-create a cushion. Observations ESPN.com listed their top twenty freshman March Madness contributions today and former Spur Gene Banks (starting small forward on their early 80s playoff squads) made the list along with current Rookie of the Year frontrunner Castle made it, as well. The color scheme between the pastel court and the two teams - new eyes needed! AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHH: With four minutes left, Keldon Johnson stole a Sixers pass, and lofted the perfect feathery lob to a soaring Sochan to put San Antonio ahead for good 119-117. Keldon’s Kitchen: He and Castle being around each other so much seemed to pay dividends. He had a change-of-pace and-1 late in the first that looked eerily like Castle’s drive path. Sequence of the Game #1: Late in the opening half, Sochan nabbed an errant Sixer pass, and the ball went through several Spurs before Castle converted an acrobatic lay-up. Sequence of the Game #2: In the final moments of the half, Sochan grabbed another errant pass and dribble around and through four Sixers to throw down a two-handed jam. Game Rundown Taking advantage of the lighter and shorter Jared Butler on him, Sochan knocked down San Antonio’s first three baskets. The Diaw-like movements of Yabusele allowed him to rampage deep into the paint, and with ample sharing and accurate shooting around him, the Sixers went up nine. A handful of threes from Vassell and Barnes put San Antonio out front, as Philadelphia’s execution stalled out. A transition foul on Keldon Johnson was reviewed and overturned, and the lead referee reported that the resulting carom was grabbed by ‘Mamu.’ Wesley irritated the Sixers’ ballhandlers to nab a steal and earn free throws. Despite no field goals over the final four minutes, the Spurs exited the frame up two. Wesley was rewarded for all of his hard-nosed work with a straightaway three early in the second period and the Spurs went up five. Wesley forced an eight-second violation shortly after. Julian Champagnie’s wing three put his team up nine. San Antonio had some head-scratching turnovers (including a rare five second violation) to gift the Sixers fast break opportunities. Wesley’s corner three nudged the lead to ten. Vassell hit his fourth three in a row and Sochan threw down a lob dunk and a baby hook to keep the Spurs ahead. Yabusele and Grimes did the bulk of the team’s damage to keep Philadelphia in shouting distance. San Antonio went to the break up a dozen. In a wild and frenetic third period with two enormous momentum swings, Chris Paul had an impressive offensive burst with a quintet of triples to push the Spurs’ lead to 16. Yabusele dominated in the paint and Grimes from the perimeter, and they resumed their tag-team assault on the scoresheet to shave Philadelphia’s deficit to single digits. A Council IV desperation heave tied the game at 85. Council IV’s next three put Philadelphia ahead 95-91 heading into the fourth. For the Sixers fan’s perspective, please visit Liberty Ballers. San Antonio heads north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 5:00 PM CDT. ...read more read less