Golden State Warriors’ Leandro Barbosa (19) tries to pass the ball against Philadelphia 76ers’ Robert Covington (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Advertisement
The 76ers trailed by as many as 24 points against the Warriors last night, yet the Warriors needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Harrison Barnes to knock off the 76ers.
The Golden State Warriors got off to a slow, sloppy start.
The Warriors (44-4) defeated their opponents by an average of 15.2 points in the month, and they are tied with the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best record in National Basketball Association history through 48 games.
But those Knickerbocker fans still got to see an epic Warriors shooting performance…even if it didn’t involve Curry.
Thompson had eight of those points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Displeased with what he saw early in the game Sunday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr called a timeout two minutes into the second quarter and lit into his team.
Guard Isaiah Canaan scored 18 points off the bench for Philadelphia, including a four-point play with 38.6 seconds left. The Warriors won it when Curry passed inside to Green, who fired outside to Barnes on the right baseline. “(Green) made that kick to the corner.
“In the third quarter, they just took it to another level of intensity”, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. There are going to be games where you are exhausted and not with it defensively and you have to be able to make shots.
“Anybody but the MVP”, he said.
With their new-look offense firing, the Cavaliers shot 64 percent in the second quarter and led 66-49 at halftime. They seemed on cruise control until Philadelphia’s stunning rally. Smith had 16 points and nine assists. He scored a career-best 54 points against the Knicks in 2013…. Golden State won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. Thompson led the charge with seven points.
Most of the time, there is ample room on press row to spread out. Draymond Green – who missed out on a triple-double the night before – netted 20 points on 9-for-9 shooting plus 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season. C Festus Ezeli (sore left knee) and F James Michael McAdoo (sprained toe) were out for Golden State….
“Coach Kerr got on us pretty good”, Thompson said of the clipboard toss to start the second quarter. It will be the first meeting between the Warriors and the Wizards this season. The Spurs gave up 120 points to Golden State and 117 to Cleveland without their anchor.
Advertisement
76ers: Eagles DE Vinny Curry and former Eagles RB Brian Westbrook were seated in the first row…. G/F JaKarr Sampson returned after missing the last two games due to illness.
