Summer League: Sixers salvage time in Utah with win over Spurs

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SALT LAKE CITY – No Markelle Fultz equaled no problem for the Sixers.

This time, they finished off a fourth-quarter rally with a victory. The Sixers downed the Spurs 94-86 on Thursday in their Utah Jazz Summer League finale. They finished with a 1-2 record in Utah.

A balanced offensive effort aided the Sixers in their comeback. Five players scored in double figures, led by 18 points and seven rebounds from St. Joe’s product Isaiah Miles. Jonah Bolden chipped in 16 points and eight boards.

San Antonio struggled with turnovers and the Sixers took advantage. They forced 25 turnovers and scored 31 points off those takeaways.

Turning point
Down eight points late in the third quarter, the Sixers ran off three straight baskets over the final 30.3 seconds of the quarter. Isaiah Briscoe started off the flurry with a reverse layup, Miles tacked on a dunk and James Blackmon, Jr. finished it all off with a fadeaway jumper to beat the buzzer. Their efforts helped the Sixers tie it at 70-70 early in the fourth quarter.

Furkan Korkmaz sparked another run for the Sixers after burying a three-pointer four minutes into the fourth quarter. It touched off a 11-0 run that gave them an 83-79 lead. Bolden tied it on a dunk and then the Sixers took the lead on a reverse layup from Miles.

Fultz watch
Top pick Fultz did not play for the Sixers on Thursday. The team designated it as a rest day for him ahead of the Sixers’ trip to Las Vegas to participate in summer league action there.

With Fultz on the bench, Larry Drew II started at point guard and served as the primary ball handler. Drew finished with two points, five assists and two turnovers in 30 minutes. The 6-foot-2 guard appeared in 12 games for the Sixers during the 2014-15 season. He averaged 3.8 points and 3.8 assists.

Team leaders
Bolden and Miles led a tough second unit, combining for 34 points and 15 rebounds. Brandon Austin added 15 points and Briscoe chipped in 10. Korkmaz was the lone starter to score in double figures, totaling 10 points.

Bryn Forbes led San Antonio with 21 points on 7 of 17 shooting. Cory Jefferson was the only other Spurs player to finish in double figures with 11.

Key stat
The second unit came to life for the Sixers. Bench scoring helped the team keep pace with the Spurs for much of 40 minutes. The Sixers totaled 66 bench points compared to 33 for San Antonio.

Top Sixers plays
Blackmon provided the biggest highlight in an end-of-quarter flurry for the Sixers in the third. He turned a turnover by Davis Bertrans into a fadeaway jumper that beat the buzzer by 0.2 seconds. It gave the Sixers valuable momentum going into the fourth quarter.

The Sixers tied and passed the Spurs in the final quarter thanks to a pair of great plays from Bolden and Miles. Bolden tied the game at 79-79 on a dunk and then Miles gave the Sixers the lead for good on a reverse layup with 4:32 remaining.

What's next?
The Sixers head down to Las Vegas to continue summer league play this weekend. 

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