Joel Embiid, 76ers Down Undermanned Golden State Warriors

The once highly-anticipated matchup between two star-studded teams turned into a shorthanded battle for both sides on Friday night in the matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors.

For Philly, they got healthier as De’Anthony Melton and Danuel House Jr. returned to the mix. However, the veteran forward Tobias Harris was considered a late scratch due to back pain, while Tyrese Maxey remained off the floor as he continues his recovery from a small fracture in his foot.

On the other side, the Warriors lost their superstar guard Steph Curry for multiple weeks due to a shoulder injury. Andrew Wiggins, who has missed a handful of games lately, remained out. Draymond Green went into the matchup questionable before getting ruled out hours before tip-off.

Despite being shorthanded, the Warriors looked to be in good shape at the start of Friday’s game. With an impressive first-quarter outing by Golden State forward Donte DiVincenzo, the Warriors outscored the Sixers 38-33 in the first 12 minutes of action.

“They came out, and they wanted to prove a lot, and they did that,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers after the game. “DiVincenzo, I kept seeing a Villanova jersey. He was phenomenal at the beginning of the game.”

DiVincenzo fired off 15 points in the first quarter. While he stood out, Sixers guard James Harden matched his production with 15 points of his own. The Sixers managed to outscore the Warriors in the second quarter of action, despite going a tough 5-20 from the field.

After an underwhelming first half by Philadelphia, the Sixers trailed the shorthanded Warriors 57-55. Despite struggling against the Warriors defensively, Philadelphia’s second-half performance was much better.

The Warriors shot just 39 percent from the field in the third quarter, turning the ball over five times. Meanwhile, the Sixers knocked down nearly 60 percent of their shots, draining five of their 11 threes, rallying off 33 points to gain a seven-point edge over the Warriors before the fourth quarter.

“It was our transition game finally,” Rivers explained. “You could see it, we got the ball up the floor, got stops, but we got stops in the second quarter and didn’t do that. You know, in the third quarter, we got stops, and you could see everybody just throwing the ball ahead, attacking early.”

Once again, Sixers center Joel Embiid was a significant difference-maker in the second half. In the 16 minutes he checked into the second half, Embiid drilled six shots, with two coming from beyond the arc, totaling 17 points. Overall, Embiid led the Sixers with a game-high 34 points. Harden came second with 27 points along with nine assists.

“I love what Joel was doing, running straight down the middle of the floor,” Rivers finished. “We kept telling him early, ‘You’re the biggest guy out there. Wherever you go, you’re gonna take traffic.’ I thought he did that in the second half.”

The Sixers went from trailing in a tight game to leading in a lopsided second half. By outscoring Golden State 63-49, the Sixers defeated the Warriors 118-106.

With that victory, the Sixers move to 16-12 on the year, forming a four-game win streak for the first time this season. They’ll get the next couple of days off before returning to their home court to face the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.