The Golden State Warriors (42-4) started out a three-game road trip to the East Coast at the Philadelphia 76ers (7-40).
The Warriors were without Andre Iguodala due to rest, with a back-to-back against Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks tomorrow.
Also out were Festus Ezeli, whose MRI for an injured left knee was inconclusive, and James McAdoo, who was still nursing an injured toe. Kevon Looney was reassigned to D-League after his NBA debut three nights ago.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (right foot). Head coach Brett Brown announced during the pregame presser that he would have Number One draft pick Jahlil Okafor come off the bench, thereby starting Jerami Grant matched up against Draymond Green and Nerlens Noel against Andrew Bogut.
1st Quarter – Chef Thompson Still Cooking The Klay-Pot
Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes swished early triples…
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…but Stephen Curry couldn’t buy one, missing two in a row while the Sixers’ Robert Covington hit pivot-and-launch three from a baseline out-of-bounds play in the right corner, then Nick Stauskas threw up a prayer from the right baseline, a two-pointer in which he expected the whistle but didn’t get it, as the ball went through the hoop.
Thompson followed that up with a drive down the lane, finishing in traffic from the right board nicely, but Ish Smith came right back in transition with little resistance, down the lane as well with a “parting of the Red Sea”, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t like what he saw and called timeout with the 76ers taking an early 12-8 lead with 7:45 to go.
Out of the timeout, Curry threw the ball away, then after Smith missed a jumper, Thompson threw the ball away as well, badly missing Draymond Green’s cut behind him, the ball sailing into the baseline seats.
Stauskas stayed hot, hitting a jumper as well as a pull-up triple early in the clock, but Barnes answered the jumper with one of his own and after the Stauskas three, Green pulled down a Klay miss and found Steph cross-court on the left wing. Curry up-faked and side-stepped to drain the three.
Stauskas tried to answer again, but missed from the top and Green found Andrew Bogut in transition for a dunk. Bogut got hit on the side of the head, but there was no call, and with 5:44 remaining, Brown called a timeout with the 76ers up, 17-15.
Bogut added two more points on a tip-in of Green’s post up miss, and Curry anticipated an up-pass in the backcourt by Smith, probed the right side, drew a double-team, and found Thompson on the left wing for a catch-and-shoot three:
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#SplashBrothers working perfectly together on @CSNAuthentic. #SPLASH pic.twitter.com/XL6wfeWcsV
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) January 30, 2016
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The Warriors showed a glimpse of their championship-level defense as Draymond got a steal in the lane but lost his footing, losing the ball in the process, but slapped the ball out of the putback attempt, then Bogut blocked the ensuing putback after that!
That led to a Steph drive down the right side, only to find Klay again on the left wing (deja vu!) for another triple.
Both teams traded misses, including a heat-check from Thompson, but Barnes stole a Noel offensive rebound, found Draymond on the wing on the break, who found Klay cutting down the lane for a dunk.
That gave the Warriors a 15-0 run and Brown called another timeout with 3:28 remaining, the Warriors up 25-17.
Both teams traded punches to close out the first quarter, with Curry getting a high-glass scoop over Okafor down the right lane, Green got a hand off and scored a reverse with the foul, although he missed the “and-one” free throw, and after a Hollis Thompson miss, Marreese Speights corralled the board, found Leandro Barbosa streaking down the left side, who lobbed to Draymond for a two-handed jam:
The lob to @Money23Green on @CSNAuthentic. pic.twitter.com/au5cebPqh3
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) January 30, 2016
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Golden State ended the quarter on a 24-11 run, shooting 58%, although Curry threw up an airball trying to answer a steal of Green by Sixers’ backup point guard T.J. McConnell…
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…and took a 34-28 lead into the second stanza.
2nd Quarter – Bench Unit Holds Strong, Klay/Steph Add Sizzle
The Warriors’ bench unit did well to maintain the buffer, as Speights started things out with a catch-and-shoot jumper fed by Shaun Livingston, Barbosa got a layup after a “hesi” move, Livingston made a right baseline post up fade, and Barbosa drilled a triple from the left corner.
Despite Isaiah Canaan buoying the Sixers with two threes and Okafor contributing, Golden State stretched the lead to 45-36 with 8:57 left as Brown called another timeout.
The Warriors’ bench made few mistakes and even when they did, such as Ian Clark getting picked by Canaan, they made up for it, as Clark hustled back to block Canaan’s fastbreak layup attempt.
Livingston added a reverse dunk, Klay a driving layup, Barnes a three, Thompson another jumper to give him 19 points in the first half, and an Okafor jumper late in the shotclock for the 76ers brought the score back to 54-45, Warriors.
After a timeout, the refs took away a Sixers’ bucket due to what they claimed was a shotclock violation on a previous made basket, and Green muscled a layup past Grant, then sealed his man in transition for a layup after Hollis Thompson missed a three.
That gave the Warriors a 58-43 lead with 4:53 remaining.
Later, Klay went right-to-left with a pop jumper over the smaller Canaan, then after Canaan answered with his fourth three, found Jason Thompson under the hoop for a bucket after a nice spin move, giving Golden State a commanding 62-46 lead:
Thompson to Thompson on @CSNAuthentic. pic.twitter.com/Ud5bJq13fO
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) January 30, 2016
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The Warriors ended the half with their engines revving, with Bogut getting an alley oop to make it 66-49, with 25 of the team’s 29 made field goals being assisted on.
Curry ended the half with flair with a three that answered a Stauskas triple, then after a Draymond tip-in of a missed Clark layup in transition, which would’ve tied a Warriors franchise record for assists in a half with 26, Steph got an outlet from Bogut on a one-handed bounce pass and drove into the lane, hung in the air, and finished with a pretty reverse layup on the left board with the right hand:
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And that gave them a tie with the franchise record of 26 assists in a half, with a 73-54 lead at halftime.
Klay led all scorers with 21 points on a blistering 9-for-15 field, Curry tallied 13 points, and Green notched 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @nicoleaue)
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