The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed the Golden State Warriors in for a primetime matchup at home and it came with history surrounding the Dubs when it came to superstar Stephen Curry. The sharpshooter entered the contest needed 10 triples to pass Ray Allen for the most in NBA history.
The Sixers slowed him down a bit as they held him to just three triples on 14 attempts and they were able to rally from a 13-point deficit to knock off the Warriors 102-93 at home. While Joel Embiid led the Sixers in scoring with 26 points and nine rebounds, it was the bench that gave the team a huge spark in the third quarter and into the fourth.
Shake Milton, Andre Drummond, Georges Niang, and Furkan Korkmaz all played an important role in this comeback win. Milton had 10 points and four rebounds, Drummond had nine and nine rebounds, Tobias Harris added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey had 14. Seth Curry also added 10 points and five rebounds and Matisse Thybulle had six points and two blocks.
Here are the player grades following an impressive win:
Tyrese Maxey: C+
The second-year guard started the game strong knocking down two triples and he was getting into the paint on the offensive end of the floor. There was a noticeable aggression with Maxey that was not there in previous games. His defense against Jordan Poole was solid to start the game, but it then regressed as Poole began to get hot for Golden State. Poole really had his way with both Maxey and Milton in the second half.
Seth Curry: B+
Give the Warriors credit, they really keyed in on Seth when he came off the screens. They got into his space and could not step into his normal jump shot nor could he find an open 3 in this one. He did convert the few looks he was able to get, but Golden State really made life tough on him. When he did finally break free in the fourth quarter, he made some huge shots to put the Warriors away.
Matisse Thybulle: A+
Earing the start solely to slow down Steph Curry, Thybulle was a big reason why the all-time great shooter got off to a slow start on the offensive end. Thybulle’s length and aggressiveness on defense seemed to really bother Steph in the early going. What Steph did do was use his shooting gravity in order to open up things for his teammates, but he was not able to really get into his usual groove shooting the ball. The two blocks Thybulle had on Steph were really impressive. He even made two triples which is huge for him.
Tobias Harris: C
He didn’t shoot the ball well, but he was aggressive and that’s important for this team’s offense. It seemed like he was making those quick decisions as soon as he caught the ball. He was getting to his spot and into the paint and he just had a tough time finishing. Getting to the free-throw line is what really helped him in this one. The gripe with Harris is being aggressive. He started the game with aggression, but it was not there the rest of the game.
Joel Embiid: B
The big fella was challenged in this one. Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were tough competitors all night long and he wasn’t exactly efficient, but he was getting to the free-throw line and he was able to get his points that way. He has been barking at the officials a lot lately as he makes his case to get more calls, but it seemed to take him out of his rhythm. There were plenty of times where he was looking for the foul rather than looking to score and that is something that has to change. Embiid is too good of a player to struggle like this against smaller opponents. He gets credit for scoring in the fourth and finally asserting his dominance, but he should have done that from the beginning.
Danny Green: B-
Coming off the bench, the veteran knocked down a corner triple to start his night. That was a good sign following his 0-for showing in Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz. Other than that, Green didn’t get many open looks to make a huge impact, but the Sixers will take his contributions in other areas in this one.
Andre Drummond: A
There was a moment in this game where it looked like Drummond said “enough” and he forced his way through a slew of Warriors defenders with a slam. He followed that up with an alley-oop slam and that’s when one sees that he is seriously engaged. He played with a ton of energy in this one. This was one of Drummond’s better performances of the season. He deserves a lot of credit.
Shake Milton: A-
Like Drummond, Milton was another guy who hopped off the bench and gave a spark. He was pushing the ball in transition, he was solid on the defensive end, and he was aggressive in the half-court offense as well. His offense was huge in the second half in order to help Philadelphia get this win. This was an impressive performance up and down the roster.
Georges Niang: B-
Niang wasn’t much of a factor at the beginning of this one. He couldn’t get to his spots from deep and the one time he got to the basket, he was short on a runner. However, he drilled a huge triple in the second half and he made the little plays in order to help get this one done.
Furkan Korkmaz: B
It was surprising to see Korkmaz get some run in a game like this one. The Warriors are such a challenge to defend and he is not the best on that end combined with being in a slump. He didn’t do much in his initial stint, but he knocked down an important triple in the comeback.
