Sixers can't find range, neither can Warriors' Steph Curry
The Golden State Warriors overcame an off-shooting night. Steph Curry missed all 11 of his three-point attempts. And as a team, the Warriors made just 6 of 29 three-pointers. Yet, they still managed to defeat the 76ers, 119-108, on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Golden State Warriors overcame an off-shooting night.
Steph Curry missed all 11 of his three-point attempts. And as a team, the Warriors made just 6 of 29 three-pointers. Yet, they still managed to defeat the 76ers, 119-108, on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center.
The win enabled the Warriors to improve their league-best record to 50-9 while extending their winning streak to four games. It also marked their seventh consecutive and eighth victory in nine series games against the Sixers (22-37).
"At times, we got lucky with them as a team," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "They didn't shoot like the team would normally shoot it."
Unfortunately for the Sixers, Golden State isn't a normal team. It's a team with four NBA all-stars in Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. So they are more than equipped to overcome an poor-shooting night.
The four all-stars and Zaza Pachulia, who joins them in the starting lineup, all scored in double digits. In fact, all 13 Warriors scored at least two points.
Durant paced the Warriors with 27 points and eight rebounds in what was his seventh straight 20-point performance. Thompson added 21 points. Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals. Curry had 19 points and six assists, while Pachulia added a season-high 16 points on 5-for-5 shooting, five rebounds and one block in just 14 minutes, 30 seconds of action.
The Warriors improved to 5-0 in games that all five starters score in double-digits.
But for Curry, this was a game he would soon like to forget.
The reigning two-time league MVP had his worst three-point shooting performance of the season. His previous worst outing was going 0 for 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 4. On Monday, he made just 7 of 23 shots overall from the field.
"The weather man said there was a low pressure system coming in," Curry joked. "I forgot to adjust to the thickness of the air. It happens."
As a team, the Warriors struggled mightily in the first half, shooting 39.5 percent and 1 for 16 on threes.
That enabled the hosts to keep things close at intermission, trailing by three, 59-56. However, the Warriors opened a 14-point lead on three occasions in the second half.
Dario Saric paced the Sixers with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. It was his eighth straight game with 18 or more points.
Saric had a scare in the fourth quarter.
David West elbowed him on the side of his head with 7:54 left. Saric fell to the court, and West was called for a Flagrant Foul 1. He remained in the game and sank a pair of foul shots to pull the Sixers within eight, 99-91. But that was as close as they got.
Gerald Henderson (16 points), Robert Covington (15 points, eight rebounds, four steals), Richaun Holmes (15), Sergio Rodriguez (10) and Nik Stauskas (10) were the Sixers' other double-digit scores.
Jahlil Okafor struggled on this night as well.
The center finished with four points, seven turnovers and had five personal fouls in 17:23 of action.
"I had three offensive fouls," Okafor said. "It's really hard to establish any type of rhythm or any type of feel for the game when you are in foul trouble. It's just difficult."
@PompeyOnSixers