Philadelphia @ San Antonio preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2018 ) Philadelphia 97, San Antonio 78

Just as the San Antonio Spurs were beginning to look like their old selves, they collapsed at home against one of the worst teams in the league. The Spurs will try to bounce back against a more formidable opponent when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

San Antonio had won four in a row by an average of 22.3 points and led lowly Chicago by 21 points in the third quarter on Saturday before falling 98-93. "Their defense took us out of things," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after his team was outscored 55-31 in the second half. "We turned it over because of their pressure. The ball stopped moving, and at the right time, they started making some shots down the stretch. They deserve a lot of credit, and that's a real tough loss for us." The 76ers lost two straight games with star swingman Jimmy Butler sidelined with a groin injury before getting him back for Sunday's 126-103 win at Cleveland. Joel Embiid scored 24 points and Ben Simmons recorded his 15th career triple-double with 22 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds without committing a single turnover as Philadelphia became the third team in the NBA with 20 wins.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Southwest (San Antonio)

ABOUT THE 76ERS (20-11): Simmons is averaging 19.6 points on 61.2 percent shooting with 10.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists over his last five games. "I just like to play the game the right way. Find my teammates if they're open, if I can get an easy bucket, get it," Simmons said during a postgame television interview on Sunday. Butler recorded 19 points in his return and backup guard Landry Shamet tied his career high with 16 points in just 15 minutes while making 4-of-5 3-pointers.

ABOUT THE SPURS (15-15): LaMarcus Aldridge scored 29 points and DeMar DeRozan added 21 in Saturday's loss while two other starters - Bryn Forbes and Derrick White - were held scoreless while combining to go 0-for-7 from the field. San Antonio shot 52.6 percent and averaged 26.5 assists during its four-game winning streak but finished at 43.8 percent with 18 assists against the Bulls. "A combination - turning the ball over, they were aggressive, we couldn't score the ball - it was a combination of a little bit of everything," DeRozan told reporters.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs SG Marco Belinelli averages 9.8 points but has scored in double digits in five straight games, registering a season-high 17 in the loss to Chicago.

2. Shamet is 9-for-12 from 3-point range over his last three contests.

3. Philadelphia won both meetings in 2017-18, holding the Spurs to a season-low 78 points in the second encounter at San Antonio on Jan. 26.

PREDICTION: Spurs 113, 76ers 109