3 observations after Curry-led Warriors hang 139 points on Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers never led and never threatened from afar Thursday against the Warriors.
Golden State dominated the night and cruised to a 139-105 victory at Chase Center.
Stephen Curry was brilliant, posting 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in his 30 minutes.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers 13-19 with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Paul George added 19 points.
The Sixers were missing Kelly Oubre Jr. (left hand sprain), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) and KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction). The 17-16 Warriors had two injured players, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II.
Next up for the Sixers is the finale of a six-game road trip on Saturday against the Nets. Here are observations from their blowout loss to the Warriors:
Picking up where they left off in Sacramento
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was forced to use an early timeout due to his team’s very slow start.
Whatever plans the Sixers had to make Golden State’s offense uncomfortable didn’t come to fruition at all. Dennis Schröder hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter and Moses Moody’s triple on the first play of the second put the Sixers in a 38-19 hole.
The Sixers’ performance was the opposite of a bounce-back performance after their collapse late in the fourth quarter Wednesday against the Kings. From the end of this game until Moody’s jump, the Sixers were outscored 53-19 by their opponents.
In addition to the Sixers’ turnover issues coming out of Sacramento, they didn’t make many of the decent shots they took. The team started 0 of 7 from three-point range and had no success from long range in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Warriors were shooting and playing like a relatively well-rested team at home.
George’s pattern of trouble also continued. He collected two in the first seven minutes and changed. Since a flawless Christmas evening in Boston, he has had four consecutive games marked by early fouls.
Yabusele still ready to come off the bench
Amid all the negative points, Guerschon Yabusele’s play off the bench was a plus in the first quarter.
He scored twice on sharp cuts and led the Sixers with eight points in the first half on 3-for-3 shooting. Yabusele has been exceptional this season by immediately doing something good upon his arrival, regularly appearing with more than energy and rhythm than the players already present in the match.
For a second straight night, Nurse opted to use a two-way contract player in his rotation. After a stint by Justin Edwards in Sacramento, Jeff Dowtin Jr. played six scoreless minutes in the first half. Reggie Jackson, Eric Gordon and Ricky Council IV were the other members of the Sixers’ second unit.
The Sixers and Warriors traded numerous baskets early in the second quarter with Embiid sitting. Draymond Green raced down the court and was able to navigate through the Sixers for an easy layup on a particularly low defensive sequence.
The bar wasn’t high, but the Sixers looked a little better on both ends once Embiid returned. He did his usual damage, scoring against anyone in front of him and drawing tons of fouls (11 of 14 from the free throw line).
A big slap to conclude consecutively
The Warriors led by 16 points at halftime and pushed their advantage to more than 20 early in the third quarter.
Curry shot jumpers like the all-time great shooter he is on Thursday, going an incredible 8 of 8 from three-point territory. Golden State was 22 of 39 overall.
There’s always a fitting tip of the hat against a Curry-centric team. However, the Sixers’ defensive activity and level of concentration never seemed enough to overcome such a large deficit. They were lax in stopping the ball, tracking cutters, and rotating to shooters. The Warriors scored 13 more points than any Sixers opponent in a game so far this season.
These kinds of really bad performances happen over a long season. It was a tough situation for players like Tyrese Maxey, who played 42 minutes the night before and went 4 for 13 from the field on Thursday. Caleb Martin’s heavy minutes load of late — 37.6 per game over his last four outings — was also evident against the Warriors. He had two points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Regardless, the Sixers were unquestionably well below average on the factors within their control. Nurse turned to his deep bench players as the Sixers were down 30 points with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
