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Blair helps Spurs rout Sixers

Mar 26, 2012 - 6:16 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - With the Spurs playing their third game in as many nights, Tim Duncan received the night off, but DeJuan Blair picked up the slack, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds to lead San Antonio to a 93-76 victory over the 76ers at AT&T Center on Sunday.

Tony Parker scored a game-high 21 points to go with seven assists, while Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili tallied 11 points apiece to give the Spurs their fourth straight victory.

Philadelphia also had a key contributor sidelined, as All-Star Andre Iguodala missed the contest due to patella tendinitis in his left knee.

Elton Brand poured in 14 points and grabbed nine boards while Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday netted 10 points apiece for the Sixers, who have dropped 24 of 25 in San Antonio since the start of the 1986-87 season.

"They just put you in a bind the entire night," said Sixers head coach Doug Collins. "We normally turn the ball over 11 times and tonight it was 21. We were very careless, and that's unlike us."

The Sixers now hold a slim 1/2 game lead over Boston atop the Atlantic Division after the Celtics defeated the Wizards 88-76 earlier on Sunday.

The Spurs lead was just two, 57-55, early in the third until Blair hit a free throw to spark a 9-2 run, capped by Danny Green's three-pointer that gave San Antonio a 66-57 edge just before the midway point of the stanza.

Philadelphia responded with six of the next eight points, but Blair was too much to handle as he scored six in an 8-0 Spurs run that found the home team on top 76-63 with 1:07 left in the third.

Spencer Hawes quelled the run with a jumper but the home team led 76-65 after three.

The Spurs pulled away for good in the fourth, holding the Sixers to just one field goal over the first seven minutes of the quarter to extend their lead to 90-70 with 4:44 left in the contest.

"I think that they showed a lot of toughness and a lot of character to do that three nights in a row," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich about his team's performance in their back-to-back-to-back stretch. "They really pull for each other and all in all, they really stuck together all three nights."

Early in the game, San Antonio reeled off an 11-2 sprint, started by a triple from Matt Bonner, who started in place in Duncan.

The Sixers trailed 29-22 to start the second but they tallied 14 of the first 15 points in the quarter to take a 36-30 lead with 7:36 left until halftime.

San Antonio responded with the next 10 points to regain control as Blair scored back-to-back buckets to give the Spurs a 40-36 edge.

Ginobili's highlight-reel dunk just before halftime sent the Spurs into the locker room with a 52-49 lead.

Game Notes

Philadelphia will travel to Cleveland on Tuesday, while San Antonio heads to Phoenix on Tuesday...Philadelphia finished 1-of-9 from three-point range compared to 7-of-28 from San Antonio...The Spurs finished with a season-high 15 steals.