Steph Curry Leads Golden State Warriors Over Philadelphia 76ers As Joel Embiid Goes Down With Late Injury

The Golden State Warriors picked up a big win last night, knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107. Steph Curry seemed to have taken it personally when he was left off the starting five for the all star team, as he has scored 33, 46 and 37 since the announcement and willed the Dubs to a victory last night. While the Sixers came into the game banged up with Joel Embiid questionable and Tyrese Maxey out, the win for Golden State was still huge. Klay Thompson was out with an illness leaving Podz to start in his place while Curry, Wiggins, Draymond and Kuminga filled out the starting five. 

Draymond Green may have set a record for the quickest foul in NBA history as he fouled Embiid on the opening tip and quickly picked up a second personal two minutes later forcing Kerr to sub in Looney with just over 10 minutes on the clock. A couple minutes later Steph nailed a three to give the Warriors an early five point lead, 13-8. Kuminga and Wiggins got easy looks at the rim but Embiid responded with a three and ex-Warrior Kelly Oubre got a bucket of his own trimming the lead to three. Wiggins stayed hot scoring two more nifty baskets though the Sixers finished the quarter strong, ripping off a 12-0 run and taking a 28-23 lead into the second. Backup guard Cory Joseph drove hard to the paint and got a layup to start the second period. Then Draymond put the team on his back knocking down two threes and converting an and-1 to slice into the lead and bring the Warriors within one, 37-36. But the Sixers answered with a 7-0 burst highlighted by a Patrick Beverley long ball. A few minutes later down five, Podz got a bucket inside and buried a corner three to even the score at 46 before Wiggins gave the Dubs the lead with a pair of free throws. After some back and forth scoring, with 30 seconds left the score was tied at 50 when Saric found Kuminga at the rim for a dunk giving Golden State a 52-50 lead at the break.

Embiid and Steph traded shots from distance to kick start the scoring in the third quarter. Once Steph saw the first one fall, he was hot. Over the next several minutes he poured in three more treys, one being an and-1. With just over six minutes, the Dubs lead had ballooned to 12, 69-57. Furkan Korkmaz and Danuel House kept Philly in it with a long ball and a pair of free throws from the charity stripe. But Wiggins and Curry had the answer with an easy dunk and a mid range jumper, bringing the lead back to 11, 73-62. The Dubs kept the pressure on, maintaining a comfortable lead until the Sixers went on a 9-0 run late in the quarter. Oubre got it started with a layup before Korkmaz unloaded a three from way downtown and Tobias Harris finished it off with another layup and two from the line. Up by just five with the shot clock dark, Kuminga flushed one home and TJD put back a missed layup at the buzzer to make it an 86-77 game going into the fourth. With a solid lead and the chance to pick up a big win, the Warriors had to be laser focused to close out the fourth quarter and not surrender another comeback win. Oubre pulled up for a short jumper and knocked it down to start the fourth followed by a pair of threes from Wiggins and Jaden Springer. Then after Wiggins got to the rack for two extending the lead to nine, Korkmaz buried another three to make it a 91-85 game with ten minutes on the clock. Chase Center grew nervous as Tobias Harris nailed a middy trimming the deficit to three, but the Dubs ripped off a clutch 11-1 run over the next three minutes. Podz got a look down low for two, followed by a Kuminga dunk and trey, before Curry brought the house down with a step back three from. With just over five minutes on the clock, Golden State had a 13 point cushion, 104-91. 60 seconds later, Kuminga dove for a loose ball and in the process landed on Embiid’s leg injuring him and forcing a substitution. At that point Sixer’s coach Nick Nurse waved the white flag and checked in his reserves. They did cut the lead to eight with three minutes, but never drew closer than that, as Curry and Kuminga hit clutch free throws to keep Philly at bay down the stretch. When the horn sounded, the final tally was 119-107, and the Warriors secured a huge win that hopefully gives them some momentum moving forward.

I will be the first to admit that my prediction of Embiid going for 50 was absolutely putrid as he put up an elementary 14 points on 5-18 from the field. Tobias Harris had a great game, leading Philly with 26 points and 10 boards while Oubre was solid with 15 points on a 7-14 clip. Off the bench, Korkmaz had a season high 19 going 6-8 from the field with 5 threes. Springer also played well in a reserve role with 10 points and 5 boards. For the Dubs, Curry carried the load again with 37 points on an efficient 12-17 clip including 8 threes, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Kuminga and Wiggins balled out with 26 and 23 while Draymond recorded 9 points, 6 boards and 6 assists. There was very limited production off the bench as TJD led the way with 6 points.

The biggest story of the game was Wiggins' stellar play. With Klay out, someone needed to step up and Wiggins did so and then some. Kuminga continued his great play and he is raising many eyes around the league. Draymond said he may be the player the Warriors build around for the future. Looking at some team stats, the Dubs shot the ball well pouring in 14 threes on a 44% clip and were unselfish with the ball dishing out 32 assists. They were also money from the charity stripe going 17-19 helping them close out the game. The one drawback was their turnovers as they gave it away 16 times. 

Now, I want to touch on some recent news regarding the Warriors. There have been very conflicting reports as of late with the trade deadline around the corner. One report said the Warriors are open to trading anyone on the roster as long as Steph Curry is on board with it, while other reports have said the front office has no interest in moving any of their core championship pieces. In my opinion, and I’ve said it before, if the Warriors make a move it needs to be for a forward or center. They have too many guards that are solid role players but can’t consistently change the game. If I was the GM, I would package draft picks, Moody, Podz and maybe Wiggins if the team was willing to take on his contract. The top targets would be Lauri Markannen, Myles Turner, or Jarrett Allen. This would clear up the backcourt while also bringing in an excellent big man who can contribute both offensively and defensively. The new starting lineup would be Curry, Klay, Kuminga, Dray and Markannen/Turner/Allen. Then off the bench, CP3, GP2, Saric, TJD and Looney would get reserve minutes while Cory Joseph and Lester Quinones/Jerome Robinson wouldn’t see the floor. I genuinely believe a consistent starting five and consistent rotation where everyone knows they have secured minutes and knows when they will get into the game would benefit the team massively. Player’s confidence will rise and they will be able to get into a good rhythm much easier. Alas, I do not make any decisions. The coming weeks will be very interesting and could very well determine how the Warriors season goes. As sad as it is, Curry, Klay and Dray don’t have that many years left in the tank and the championship window may be diminishing. 

After the huge win, the Warriors move to 20-24. They are still a few games out of the 10 seed but with games coming up against the Grizzlies, Hawks and Nets, there is opportunity to put together a nice win streak. They must take it one game at a time though. The Dubs get an extra day of rest before traveling to Memphis on Friday night. With Bane, Morant and others out, I’ve got Golden State pulling off the road win 123-110.