The Sixers never flirted with a win Thursday night in their first game at the Las Vegas summer league.
The Spurs jumped out to a giant lead and never looked back in a 111-70 blowout victory.
San Antonio’s David Jones Garcia scored 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting in 18 minutes.
VJ Edgecombe (left thumb sprain) was out and is set to be re-evaluated on Saturday. No. 2 pick Dylan Harper sat for the Spurs with a groin injury.
Next up for the Sixers is a Saturday night meeting with the Hornets. Here are observations on their Vegas opener:
Former summer Sixer lights it up
The Sixers started with Judah Mintz, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Justin Edwards, Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona.
Edwards hit an early catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Other than that, the Spurs had complete control in the first quarter.
Jones Garcia, who signed a two-way contract with the Sixers last July and played on their summer league team, poured in 11 quick points. The lefty wing’s third long-range jumper gave San Antonio an 18-4 lead.
The Sixers’ guards struggled badly against the Spurs’ ball pressure and the team’s offense was disjointed. Meanwhile, Jones Garcia kept scoring and the Spurs kept dominating. At halftime, the Sixers’ deficit was 29 points.
Any bright spots?
As the final score indicates, there weren’t many truly positive takeaways for the Sixers.
Coming off of two straight 20-point performances in Salt Lake City, Mintz again had good moments as a crafty driver. His shooting was off, though — 2 for 7 from the field, 5 for 11 at the foul line.
Mark Armstrong was aggressive off the bench and chipped in 10 points. Keve Aluma added 12 points, three rebounds and three steals. Johni Broome went 2 for 3 beyond the arc.
Bona threw down a powerful, highlight-worthy dunk early in the fourth quarter.
Waiting on Edgecombe’s return
Edgecombe told Katie George on the ESPN broadcast that his thumb is “getting better” and he’ll “hopefully” be cleared to play in Vegas.
While there’s obviously zero need to play through any physical issue in summer league, it would sure be nice for the Sixers to have Edgecombe back on the court. Summer league results are unpredictable — maybe the Sixers will blow out the Hornets on Saturday — but they’re clearly a much, much better team when the No. 3 pick is available.
Beyond results, there’s also some value from a developmental standpoint in simply playing competitive games. The Sixers did not do that Thursday night.
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