76ers Send Spurs Packing with Eighth Straight Loss
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Brett Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers remained in town after defeating the New York Knicks a couple of nights back. On Friday, Coach Brown welcomed a friend, who used to serve as a boss and as a mentor. Nowadays though, they are distant friends, who happen to compete against each other on occasion.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich entered the Friday night matchup hoping to break a losing streak, which is something he is quite unfamiliar with. Over the last ten games, the Spurs only managed to come away with two victories, to be exact. And a loss against the Sixers on Friday would make it eight in a row.
Typically, the Spurs aren't known to struggle this much as Popovich coaches as good as anybody. But heading into their matchup with the Sixers, the Spurs couldn't figure out how to snap the streak. Sixers' head coach Brett Brown was aware of his opponents recent struggles before the matchup, but Popovich's former assistant knew better than to think he wasn't entering a tough matchup with a well-coached opponent.
"He is the most competitive person I've ever been around," Brown said before the game on Friday. "He's amazing. When you look down [the court] and see Pop, you know you're in for a fistfight."
There was plenty of truth to Brett Brown's statement regarding Popovich, but the Spurs' coach didn't have a ton of fight in him this time around. While San Antonio kept it close for three-quarters of the game, the Sixers ultimately came away with one of their more comfortable wins.
And as the Sixers possessed an eleven-point lead with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Spurs essentially waved the white flag. After a timeout, San Antonio decided to pull its starters and chalked up the matchup as their eighth-straight loss.
So how does a successor react to defeating his mentor? By giving credit where it's due, and remaining humble. "He's been doing this a lot longer than I have," Brown said regarding Popovich. "It doesn't affect me [the win]. I love him and he knows that. He coaches hard and he moves on. I don't have any reaction."
As Brown reacted (or didn't react), he recalled a moment from years ago during the Sixers' dreadful 'Process' days. He painted the picture of a coach who was dealing with something similar to what Popovich and the Spurs are currently experiencing, but with the tables turned.
When Brown recalls seeing Philadelphia losing by close to fifty points against the Spurs, he remembers what it's like to be in that position. Therefore, the Sixers head coach cannot help but remain humble after a win over somebody who is not only legendary but also close to him. The Sixers advanced with a 115-104 victory, but there wasn't any celebrating. They are already onto the Miami Heat on Saturday.