Sixers battle Warriors but lose by 2

OAKLAND, Calif. -  For three quarters, the 76ers showed why Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr raved about them.

Then they were doomed by horrid shooting, poor execution and an inability to make stops in the final 12 minutes.  That enabled the Warriors to battle back from a 16-point, third-quarter deficit Tuesday night to take a 106-104 victory at the Oracle Arena.

"If we cut out just one bad play in the fourth quarter or maybe two bad plays in the quarter that would have meant a lot," Dario Saric said. "We would have won this game."

Despite their fourth-quarter letdown, the Sixers (24-43) still had an opportunity to force overtime.

With his team down three points, Saric stepped to the foul line with 2.6 seconds remaining. The Sixers power forward made the first foul shot to cut the lead to two points. He purposely missed the second as instructed. However, none of his teammates were able to get the rebound and time expired.

Robert Covington told Saric to try to miss the free shot on the right side of the basket. However, Saric noticed that the 6-foot-9 Covington would have to battle Golden State's 6-11 Zaza Pachulia on the right side. He noticed that his 6-10 teammate Richaun Holmes was paired up against 6-7 Draymond Green on the left side.

"I thought I would shoot and miss and the ball would go up and maybe [Richaun] could get the tip-in and jump over and get the ball," Saric said. "So I missed to the left and Richaun didn't get the ball.

"Like I said before, if we cut maybe one bad play or maybe two bad plays, that would mean a lot. We would win this game."

Instead, the Sixers suffered their fourth loss in five games.  It was marked their eighth consecutive series defeat to Golden State (53-14).

Steph Curry finished with a game-high 29 points on his 29th birthday. Twelve of his points came in the fourth quarter. The two-time reigning league MVP struggling mightily before the quarter.

He made just 4 of 17 shots – including going 2-for-8 on three-pointers – through three quarter. In the fourth, he made 3 of 5 three-pointers and 4 of 6 shots overall.

"That's what I love about Steph is that he's never going to stop shooting, and he never loses confidence," Kerr said. "It wasn't his night and yet he still scored 12 in the fourth quarter. That's the mark of a star."

Klay Thompson carried the Warriors before the fourth quarter. He scored all three of his 28 points in the first three quarters. Green finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and six blocks. Three of his blocks came in the fourth. Matt Barnes had 10 points.

The Sixers were paced by Saric. The rookie-of-the-year front-runner scored 25 points to extend his streak of double-digit scoring games to 17.  He also had seven rebounds, six assists , two blocks and six  turnovers. Jahlil Okafor added 22 points and four blocks, while Holmes had 14 points in a reserve role. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had 10 points in his third consecutive start.

The Sixers gave the Warriors all they could handle.

"I love the way they play," Kerr said. "I think they play a lot like we do, actually, with the ball movement, cutting and spacing.

"They've had all the injuries over the last couple of years and Brett [Brown] has kept them together and kept them playing hard and competing every night. It's really impressive."

Kerr added that he believes the ship has turned around for the Sixers franchise. He hopes they can get healthy next season.

"Get [Ben] Simmons and Joel [Embiid] healthy," he said. "Now they have something to build on with the momentum that they have put together this year."

It looked like it would be a good night for the Sixers when T.J. McConnell jumped up to steal the inbounds pass from Curry with 5: 56 left in the half. The Sixers point guard passed the ball to Nik Stauskas. Stauskas then passed the ball back to McConnell for a layup to give the Sixers a 49-47 lead.

It looked like the Warriors would have to do something special to win once Gerald Henderson's foul shot gave the Sixers a 90-74 lead with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

But that's when the tables started to turn. The Sixers went on to miss their two shot attempts and both of their foul shots the rest of the quarter. They also committed a costly turnover.

The  Warriors went on a 19-2 run to take a 93-92 lead with 7:24 remaining in the game.

Curry made a three-pointer with 3:42 left to give the Warriors a 101-99 advantage. Then Barnes drained a three-pointer to give them a five-point advantage.

After the Sixers pulled within one point, Green hit a pair of foul shots for a 106-103 Warriors lead with 56 seconds left.

Green blocked a layup attempt by McConnell on the ensuing possession. But the Sixers retain the ball because Green sent the ball out of bounds.  That possession concluded with Holmes stepping out of bounds while dribbling the ball.

The team went to exchange turnovers during the next two possessions before Barnes missed a fast-break dunk.

Green fouled Saric with 2.6 seconds left. That's what set up the final play.

The Sixers shot just 30 percent and allowed the Warriors to shoot 50 percent  - including 5 of 9 on three-pointers – in the fourth quarter. The Sixers committed 23 turnovers in the game.

"It hurts," coach Brett Brown said of the loss. "It should hurt. We put in the time. We were in a position on the road to try to get a win. … But it stings, and it should sting."