March 4, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers played host to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night looking to get back in the win column. When considering how tight everything is in the Eastern Conference standings, every game counts, but the Sixers trailed by as many as 49 in a 131-91 loss to the Spurs on Tuesday.

The Sixers were led by Tyrese Maxey with 21 points and eight rebounds, Cam Payne had 10 points, and Adem Bona had six and six rebounds. Jabari Walker added 20 points and six rebounds in garbage time.

Here are the three biggest takeaways for the Sixers following the loss:

Tough offensive showingPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 3: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots the ball against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 3, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Sixers were unable to get much going offensively. It felt as if Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were settling for tough jumpers as they did not want to really challenge Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama in the paint. The disjointed offense led to some tough offensive possessions as Philadelphia could not find much of anything positive on that end of the floor.

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Afterward, coach Nick Nurse stated:

I think he, obviously, had a factor. The game was pretty much out of hand at halftime. So, it’s hard to say. I thought, obviously, he blocked a couple shots inside. I thought, again, till the second quarter, we just kind of didn’t do anything very well that. I thought we were doing a decent job of finding shots. I think it was taking a while and that’s kept saying that in the timeouts. The open shots aren’t coming as fast as they did the other night, but they’re still, you just got to be a little bit more patient and continue to kick out and and I thought, for the most part—I mean, obviously he blocked a couple of the inside ones from our bigs. But I thought, other than that, we were doing a decent job there for a while, and then we just, we didn’t make—they scored lots in transition. Just really—the second quarter defensively was really bad. Obviously, they were really rolling. Hitting tons of 3s, getting to the rim. There just was no resistance defensively.

Ailments piling upPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 3: Vj Edgecombe #77 of the Philadelphia 76ers is helped up by teammates after an injury against the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 3, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Spurs defeated the 76ers 131-91. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Sixers entered this contest still working through the Paul George suspension while Joel Embiid was sidelined with a right oblique strain and Kelly Oubre Jr. was out due to an illness. Philadelphia then lost Edgecombe at halftime due to a lower back issue. As the Sixers move forward, they will need everybody to heal up for this final stretch run of the season. With this loss coupled with wins by the Magic and the Heat, the lead for the final guaranteed playoff spot is now just half a game over both teams.

“You got to get them going quicker, right?” said Nurse. “Like, right now, those guys got to step in and and we got to—I think the first part you got to do is get a little bit of time out there. We don’t much time to prepare, right? With another game coming, but they’ve got to, like, get in the flow of playing their role and doing a really good job playing a little tougher, a little more hard nosed. All that kind of stuff immediately.”

Wembanyama makes an impactMar 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots in front of Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (1) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

His stat line wasn’t as eye-popping as his other gaudy nights, but Wembanyama certainly made an impact in this one. He had 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and six blocks. It was the most impactful 10 points anybody could ever have as he controlled the game on both ends. The Sixers sent a lot of attention his way which led to others making plays for San Antonio and Wemby’s defensive presence was real as he made the Sixers think twice in the paint.

“I think that any time there’s a big shot blocker, I think it’s look at it through statistically, that there is less drives in a game,” Nurse explained. “If you just for whatever reason, that sense of that being down there, there’s less attempts at knowing, so when there’s less attempts, You’re going to have less, right? And that was probably a little bit of the case. It probably takes a little bit to get used to, to figure out what you’re going to do to draw him out, or stop sooner to shoot, or whatever it is you’re going to do, or just keep kicking it out and looking and looking and looking and using a little bit more of the shot clock.”