Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond Praise Matisse Thybulle for Success vs. Steph Curry

The Philadelphia 76ers don't typically ask for a lot from their third-year guard Matise Thybulle. As Thybulle continues to work on improving his all-around

The Philadelphia 76ers don't typically ask for a lot from their third-year guard Matise Thybulle. As Thybulle continues to work on improving his all-around game, the former first-round pick normally plays the role of a reserve for the Sixers.

On Saturday night, though, Thybulle started for the Sixers and played more minutes than he typically does as he was tasked with the job of following Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry.

The plan for Thybulle was to match minutes with Curry. Usually, Thybulle plays around 25 minutes, but he saw the court for 33 minutes on Saturday. As he followed Curry around for most of the night, Thybulle helped the Sixers hold the two-time MVP to just 6-20 from the field, collecting just 18 points.

After the game, Sixers star Joel Embiid had nothing but praise for his teammate as Thybulle was one of the primary reasons the Sixers could pull off the upset win against Golden State in South Philly.

"He was amazing," said Embiid following the victory. "I've been saying it since he got here; He's probably the best perimeter defender in the league, and I think he has a shot to win the Defensive Player of the Year."

While Thybulle's minutes played would probably prevent him from earning the right to be considered the best defender in the NBA, Embiid's praise for the third-year defensive standout is undoubtedly warranted. And Andre Drummond, a guy who typically plays alongside Thybulle with the bench unit, wasn't shocked at all to see his teammate lock up one of the NBA's top scorers on Saturday.

"That's what he does," stated Drummond. "He's a great defender. When it's time to step up and make a play in big moments, he's always there when we need him. He played a helluva game defensively regardless of not seeing the ball offensively. He knew his assignment today. He killed it."

Saturday night was just the fifth time Curry was held to under 20 points this season. It was the first time he did it with at least 20 shots taken, though. While Curry certainly didn't look as sharp from the field even when he was getting open looks, nothing can be taken away from Thybulle and the Sixers, who executed their game plan and came away with a 102-93 upset win at home.

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