Warriors unlikely to make moves at deadline
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 24 points and Jordan Poole added 19 as the Warriors battled back from 24 points down and nearly beat one of the Eastern Conference’s finest Tuesday night at Chase Center.
With Stephen Curry sidelined for the third straight game with a tailbone injury, poor shooting in the first and fourth quarters ultimately doomed the Warriors in Tuesday night’s 108-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Curry’s extended absence — he’s expected to miss at least three more games — threatens to sink the Warriors (22-22) to below .500 for the first time since Jan. 1.
They nearly stole this one. After scoring just 17 points in the first quarter and digging a 59-45 hole by halftime, the Warriors used a 40-point third quarter to erase a 24-point deficit and nearly complete a thrilling comeback.
Poole made three free throws to tie the game, then Oubre drained a free throw to give the Warriors their first lead, 75-74, with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter. Guard Damion Lee (16
points on 6-for-7 shooting) put the finishing touches on a 38-15 run for the Warriors to close the third quarter and take an 85-80 lead into the fourth.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Lee said. “The good thing is we went on that run in the third quarter, score was tied and then, in the fourth quarter, they really imposed their will.”
Golden State led until 76ers guard Danny Green canned a 3-pointer at the 5:32 mark of the fourth to crest a 19-4 run that gave Philadelphia a 105-96 lead with 2:12 to go. The Warriors scored just 13 points in the final period. Overall, the Warriors shot 43.4% and missed 17 of 25 3-pointers. They scored more points in the third (40) than they did in the first and fourth quarters combined (30).
“They put the clamps down on us,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “They really are a big team. They have size at every position … I thought that made a big difference in the fourth quarter especially.”
Added Andrew Wiggins: “We didn’t give up, we fought. We had a nice comeback in all but we didn’t close out the game. It is on to the next one. We have to focus on the next game.”
The 76ers (31-13) were led by point guard Ben Simmons (22 points, eight rebounds and four assists) and forward Tobias Harris (25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists), out-scored the Warriors 58-48 in the paint and won the rebound battle 51-38 despite missing MVP candidate center Joel Embiid because on a knee injury. At times, rookie James Wiseman, who Kerr before the game announced would start the rest of the season, struggled.
“I’m just ready to just keep getting better and keep developing as a player,” Wiseman said after the game. That development is a priority for Golden State, and one that may overshadow making the postseason.
The Warriors are now 1-4 in games without Curry this season. Though Golden State is still in position to make the play-in tournament, Curry’s injury makes leap-frogging that tournament a longshot.
Commendable effort Tuesday aside, finding ways to close games was hard with Curry, and has been even more difficult without him. Golden State is 9-10 in games within five points with 5 minutes remaining — which actually puts them in the top half of the league. But better than league average is not the standard these Warriors are shooting for.
“We’re not good enough execution-wise,” said Kerr, whose team will play Thursday in Sacramento, “and that’s what we have to continue to work on and that’s what I have to do a better job of as a coach. I’ve got to get us organized and then we’ve got to find better shots down the stretch.”