Sixers’ defense nonexistent in 139-105 loss to Steph Curry and the Warriors
Curry had 30 points and 10 assists as the Warriors did whatever they wanted to offensively. The Sixers have lost two straight after starting the road trip with three wins.
SAN FRANCISCO — The 76ers had slightly chipped into a large deficit, and then Stephen Curry went into Stephen Curry mode.
The Golden State Warriors’ megastar drained a deep three-pointer off excellent ball movement, then opened the bank on the next possession for another deep shot off the glass. After that, Curry slung a pass to Andrew Wiggins for a corner three-pointer — and celebrated with an exaggerated skip down the floor — before hitting a fadeaway jumper that forced a Sixers timeout.
That Curry third-quarter outburst, in less than two minutes of game time, unofficially slammed the door on the Sixers, who were disastrous defensively in a lopsided 139-105 loss Thursday night at Chase Center.
“We had a little bit of an energy issue, obviously, tonight,” coach Nick Nurse said after the game. " ... They were moving a heck of a lot faster than we were. Just a step behind from the start, at both ends, and just dug ourselves in a huge hole, and it just kind of continued.”
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The defeat put another dent in what had been a promising road stint, with three consecutive victories beginning with a topping of the defending champion Boston Celtics on Christmas. But less than 24 hours after collapsing late in Wednesday’s loss at the Sacramento Kings, the Sixers (13-19) got off to a horrid start and never recovered against the Warriors (17-16) — even with former NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid (28 points, 14 rebounds) back in the lineup after resting the front end of the back-to-back.
Defensive breakdowns were at the top of the list of the Sixers’ issues, an unfortunate reversal of one significant component of the team’s December upswing to creep closer to .500. And those miscues did not only occur against Curry, the future Hall of Famer and all-time shooter who went a blistering 8-for-8 from three-point range and finished with 30 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.
The Warriors drained 10 of their first 15 three-point attempts (and finished 22-of-39, for 56.4%), eclipsed 50 points before the second quarter’s midway point, and shot 60.9% from the floor for the game. Golden State recorded an eye-popping 41 assists on 53 made field goals, and totaled 20 fastbreak points.
Paul George finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while big man Guerschon Yabusele was a bright spot with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench. All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey went just 4-of-13 from the field and finished with 14 points and six assists.
The Sixers dug themselves into an early hole, trailing 35-17 when former Philly guard Buddy Hield buried a three-pointer with 17.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Sixers shot just 7-of-21 from the floor (0-for-7 from three-point range) in the first period, committing five turnovers and allowing the Warriors to go 59.1% from the floor and 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
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Embiid got the Sixers within 60-50 with a three-point play with less than four minutes remaining before halftime, but Curry answered with a three-pointer and a nifty dish to a cutting Wiggins for a layup. Their lead ballooned to as many as 36 points in the second half’s waning minutes.
The Sixers conclude this six-game road stretch on Saturday at the Brooklyn Nets, before a three-game home stand on Monday against the Phoenix Suns, Wednesday against the Washington Wizards, and next Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.