ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Three nights after having the bench unit lose in San Antonio, the Golden State Warriors (52-14) were finally back for a homestand to start off against the Philadelphia 76ers (24-42).
The Warriors were without Kevin Durant (left MCL sprain, left tibial bone bruise) and Damian Jones (D-League assignment).
The Sixers were without Jerryd Bayless (left wrist), Joel Embiid (left knee), Ben Simmons (right foot), and Tiago Splitter (right calf).
Q1: Hey Look, SplashBrothers Splash!
The Warriors got off to a slow start, as both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson missed open triples. Meanwhile, Dario Saric dunked on a fast break layup after a bad turnover by Draymond Green. Patrick McCaw, who started in place of Durant, also made a poor internal pass.
But Klay Thompson struck back after a series of empty possessions, getting a left side banker to fall with the right-hand, then after a missed free throw from Green, hit another three on an extra pass from McCaw after Pachulia drew a foul on the miss:
[protected-iframe id=”c45692b9f16fc526a554c11bb3f833fb-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCSNWarriors%2Fstatus%2F841844816245751808″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]Gerald Henderson answered with a tough jumper, but Draymond made an extra swing pass on the next half-court set with Zaza supplying a pick for an open trey by Thompson again:
[protected-iframe id=”6f7b69e829ecfb11d422acbbb62e6e0d-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBATV%2Fstatus%2F841844745789943808″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]But Klay wasn’t done. Henderson hit another floater, Green got the inbound, raced upcourt, and found Thompson open again for three more:
[protected-iframe id=”8605d627eca7842dc97c651f3780aa4e-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCSNWarriors%2Fstatus%2F841845228596215808″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]76ers head coach Brett Brown called a timeout as Golden State moved ahead, 18-15, with 5:41 remaining.
Steph’s dad Dell Curry wished him happy birthday on the TV broadcast:
[protected-iframe id=”5b575575b8d70648b043b7da332bdc36-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F841846206137417730″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]After the timeout, Curry got a hand on a pass from Robert Covington, enabling McCaw to lead the break. Patrick threaded a bounce pass to Steph for a pinpoint layup, but Nik Stauskas came off the bench and hit a three plus a righty layup and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout with 3:33 to play, down 24-22.
Out of the timeout, Curry finally got a triple to fall, getting the swing pass from Draymond. Later, Steph also drew three foul shots and made them all, fed Andre Iguodala for three more from the right wing…
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[protected-iframe id=”47aa129afe480beab24839dba5f5992c-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F841848351440039936″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]However, Henderson found Richaun Holmes for a bucket with 25.5 seconds left, and the Warriors held a slim 35-34 lead at the end of one.
Q2: Sixers Don’t Blink
Kerr started the second stanza with Ian Clark, Klay, Iguodala, Matt Barnes, and David West.
Thompson hit another bucket and Barnes drilled a catch-and-shoot from Clark from distance, prompting another Brown timeout as the Warriors inched ahead, 42-38.
After the timeout, Clark led a break after a missed three and fed a no-look pass to Iguodala darting down the left side for a slam dunk:
[protected-iframe id=”71dcfc7ef67964048a51bb21dab7c130-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCSNWarriors%2Fstatus%2F841851967689256960″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]Later, Klay converted an and-one jumper against Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot..,
[protected-iframe id=”0942cd45157a912630715bd6ae0b7c35-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCSNWarriors%2Fstatus%2F841852367460941824″ width=”360″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″]…but Golden State gave up two straight buckets, called timeout, and Curry threw the inbound away to McConnell who converted the break with Stauskas to tie the score at 47-47.
Kerr had brought in the Matt Barnes version of the “Death Lineup” and Thompson hit another triple to give the Warriors a slim 54-53 lead approaching three minutes left.
After free throws traded by Draymond and McConnell, Shawn Long missed inside and that turned into a touchdown pass to Barnes from Steph, but Iguodala smoked a reverse layup in transition, Klay couldn’t hit after dribbling-and-popping using a pump-fake, and Saric missed a three over two Warriors from the top at the buzzer, resulting in a 76ers halftime lead of 59-58.
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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @jetsetbrunette411)
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