Matisse Thybulle Has a Lot to Gain From Guarding Steph Curry on Wednesday

The Philadelphia 76ers had their hands full on Wednesday night. As they embarked on their sixth-straight road game, the Sixers faced their toughest challenge

The Philadelphia 76ers had their hands full on Wednesday night. As they embarked on their sixth-straight road game, the Sixers faced their toughest challenge yet as they played against the Western Conference's top team, the Golden State Warriors.

As always, the Warriors are led by former MVP Steph Curry, who continues to insert himself in the conversation of potentially becoming the league's Most Valuable Player every year. Going against a player of Curry's caliber, the Sixers looked to try and slow him down by using their defensive ace Matisse Thybulle at times.

While the third-year veteran made some good plays against the Golden State superstar on Wednesday night, Steph Curry led the Warriors to victory by scoring a game-high of 25 points in 34 minutes. After the game, Thybulle discussed just how difficult it is to match up against Curry.

"Just the level of focus that is necessary because, with a guy like him, he's just a dynamic player with the ball and without so just for me, it was a challenge and this I knew that going into it," Thybulle said in regards to facing Curry. "[You have] to just to stay locked in, because he has this ability to lull guys to sleep and then this burst of speed and all of a sudden, he is wide open shooting threes."

In addition to Curry's ability to find open shots, Thybulle acknowledged that his just his presence makes the matchup difficult because there isn't a chance he'd be able to help on defense because Curry alone demands so much attention. 

"There's not much I can do besides try and guard him," Thybulle explained. "They have so much firepower. It made it so I couldn't impact the game as much as I wanted to. And to their credit, they're smart. They use him well to complement everyone else on the court." After spending 33 minutes in Wednesday's game, Thybulle finished the night with five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on defense. While he did a solid job in his role, Thybulle feels Wednesday was a learning experience.

"I was excited for the challenge," he continued. "Obviously, I want to do better than I have done, but every time I step out onto the court, it is a learning experience -- good or bad. Obviously, with a loss, there's a little bit more to learn than sometimes with a win. So, I definitely have a lot to gain from this game."

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