By Matthew T.F. Harrington
It wasn’t quite the romp one would expect, but the Golden State Warriors did prevail 89-84 against the 76ers in Philadelphia Monday night. Despite an off night from the Splash Brothers (if 33 combined points can be considered “off”), the Dubs ended the Sixers four-game win streak while handing the surefire lottery pick candidates a 41st loss on the season.
Former Sixers Andre Igoudala (13 points) and Marreese Speights (10) provided critical depth off the bench on a night when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson hit a combined 11 of 34 shots.
The Splash Brothers finished with only 4 three-pointers on 18 attempts, but Curry still managed a team-best 20 points. Thompson finished with 13. Leandro Barbosa provided the lift for the Warriors, with the reserve guard collecting 16 points in just under 20 minutes of work. The Sixers Robert Covington scored a game-best 21.
Philadelphia (12-41) led 24-20 after 12 minutes, but trailed by two 46-44 at the half. The Warriors opened up the final 24 minutes on an 8-2 run to build a lead they would all the way down to finish, leading by as much as ten points at one point.
The Warriors earned at least a .500 record during their four-game road trip with victories over the Sixers and Knicks. The capper would be a triumph over a struggling Minnesota Timberwolves squad Wednesday night to run the Warriors (41-9) record to 3-1 on the away set. The trip began with a 124-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
