By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Brett Brown defeated Greg Popovich for the first time in his career, and the Sixers defeated the Spurs for the first time in nearly seven years thanks to a big first half and a strong finish down the stretch by the Sixers on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Spurs opened up an early 4-0 lead before the Sixers score seven unanswered to firmly take control of the game.
Joel Embiid who was cleared to play a half hour before game time after being declared out dominated despite a sprained right hand with six points, six rebounds, three assists, and four blocks in the first quarter.
Thanks to Embiid's huge impact the Sixers led 27-22 after one.
In the second quarter the Spurs never got in enough of a groove to build a run and the Sixers continued to roll with great team defense, smart passes, and crisp shooting.
The Sixers took a 60-49 lead into the half. The Sixers scored more points on the Spurs in the first half than any team has all season.
The Sixers were 6-of-11 in the first half from beyond the arc, with J.J. Redick and Dario Saric both going 2-for-3 from deep.
Redick led the Sixers with 12 points at the half. Embiid contributed 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and four blocks in the first half.
The Spurs also had two players in double figures in the first half in Kyle Anderson and Davis Bertans with 10 points apiece.
The big difference in the first half was the turnovers. The Spurs had nine turnovers while the Sixers were uncharacteristically responsible with the ball only turning it over five times in the first half.
The Sixers followed up their first half with an energetic start to third quarter, including a huge alley-oop from Ben Simmons to Joel Embiid:
A monster alley-oop by Joel Embiid with a hand right in his face! pic.twitter.com/H3FvfxHjv7
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 4, 2018
Unfortunately the Spurs would begin to fight back as the third carried on, using a 15-3 run to help trim the Sixers lead to four.
Joel Embiid took over agaia late in the third quarter by drawing fouls at will to slow down the game and help the Sixers regain their composure.
The Sixers led 88-84 after three quarters.
The Sixers scored five straight to open the fourth quarter to extend the lead to nine after J.J. Redick was fouled behind the three-point line and hit all three of the ensuing free throws.
The Sixers struggled to hold off the Spurs during the fourth quarter and LaMarcus Aldridge tied the game at 96 after hitting a jumper along the baseline over Embiid. It was the first time the game had been tied since it was 22-22 in the first quarter.
Patty Mills would hit a three moments later to give the Spurs their first lead since it was 4-2 in the first quarter.
Spurs head coach Greg Popovich, Brett Brown's mentor, employed the hack-a-Ben strategy late in the fourth but Simmons got the last laugh by getting hot at the line going 10-of-15 from the line and hitting three straight that ultimately gave the Sixers a 106-103 lead.
On the other end the Spurs continued to threaten by grabbing multiple offensive rebounds that resulted in LaMarcus Aldridge being sent to the line. Aldridge hit one of two at the stripe and J.J. Redick hit a jumper on the other end to make it a 108-104.
Following a Sixers timeout Ben Simmons would slash down the line and throw down a huge jam after an excellent feed from Robert Covington.
Covington erred on the defensively immediately following the assist by fouling Patty Mills – an excellent free throw shooter. Mills hit both at the line to make it a four point game.
Brett Brown made a change to his usual lineup and opted to have Dario Saric take over as the ball handler in the closing seconds. Saric – who shoots over 85 percent at the line – was fouled and the Croation power forward hit both to stretch the Sixers lead to 112-106.
The Sixers defense would get one last stop to give Brett Brown his first victory over his mentor.
Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Joel Embiid registered a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with four assists and four blocks.
J.J. Redick (20 points) and Dario Saric (15 points and seven rebounds) joined Simmons and Embiid in double figures.
Patty Mills paced the Spurs with 26 points of his own. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to match Embiid's double-double.
Bryn Forbes (15), Kyle Anderson (14) and Davis Bertans (13) all reached double figures as well.
The Sixers snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Spurs by winning for the first time against San Antonio since February 11, 2011. The Sixers also snapped a five-game home losing streak and won their fourth game in their last five.
