Despite a third-quarter collapse, the Sixers were able to rally late and knock off a Curry-less Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Kicking off game one of their four-game West Coast road trip, the Sixers were able to take care of business against a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors squad. The late-night affair didn’t come without some added drama, but Philadelphia was ultimately able to extend their lead in the Eastern Conference by another half-game when it was all said and done.
Leaning on strong starts from the likes of both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, the Sixers jumped out to a massive lead early on. They got up by as much as 24 at one point, with Doc Rivers quickly turning things over to his reserves in an attempt to give his starting unit some added rest.
Despite the early signs of a blowout victory, the Warriors stormed back during the third quarter behind some strong play from the likes of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Damion Lee. Golden State outscored the Sixers 40-21 in the third, ultimately gaining the lead during the early stages of the fourth quarter.
With things trending towards the direction of an ugly loss, Doc Rivers and the Sixers quickly flipped the switch about halfway through the final period. Philly ended up outscoring Golden State by 15 in the fourth, allowing them to cruise to a rather comfortable win down the stretch. Simmons finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds, Harris with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Tony Bradley – still subbing in for an injured Joel Embiid – poured in 18 points and 11 rebounds while shooting a perfect 8-8 from the field.
Daryl Morey’s decision to trade Zhaire Smith for the backup big man is looking pretty darn good right about now!
Starters Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz each ended the game in double figures, while Shake Milton contributed 13 points off the bench. Dwight Howard was his typical chaotic self down low too, finishing the game with 13 rebounds – 5 of them being offensive.
The win sees the Sixers improve to 31-13 on the season, which is a pretty solid spot to be at heading into the NBA’s trade deadline. A trade deadline that Daryl Morey is expected to be an active participant in…
The Sixers are back in action Thursday evening against the reigning NBA champion LA Lakers. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 PM ET, and it’s also worth mentioning that both Anthony Davis and LeBron James are expected to be out for the matchup.
