PHILADELPHIA — Doc Rivers said the 76ers were focused on themselves — not who was playing for the Golden State Warriors.
“We worry about our defensive game plan,” he said before Friday night’s 118-106 victory over the Warriors at the Wells Fargo Center.
“I mean, they’re going to run a lot of the same things,” Rivers continued. “They’re still going to have some of the same movements. They’re still going to throw it to Draymond [Green] in the post and [Kevon] Looney in the post and do dribble handoffs, and none of that’s going to change.”
He said the difference is the Warriors wouldn’t have Steph Curry doing it, which he admits takes a lot from their team.
“But that’s not our concern,” he said. “Our concern is we have to worry about ourselves.”
Maybe they should have been concerned about the Warriors (14-16), who were more depleted than Rivers originally said.
In fact, the Sixers (16-12) were fortunate to extend their winning streak to a season-best four games. Joel Embiid finished game highs of 34 points and 13 rebounds while James Harden added 27 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
The Sixers shot 15 of 38 on 3s on a night every Sixer who played, with with the exception of Montrezl Harrell, made one.
Jordan Poole paced the Warriors with 29 points. Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Looney had 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Depleted Warriors
Green missed the game with a bruised right quadriceps. The Warriors don’t consider the injury serious. The All-Star power forward is expected to play Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors. However, he joined All-Stars Curry (partially dislocated left shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (strained right inner thigh), along with Andre Iguodala (left hip recovery management), who remained sidelined. Iguodala, a former Sixer, has yet to play this season.
Meanwhile, the Sixers were without two starters in Tobias Harris (back pain) and Tyrese Maxey (fractured left foot). This marked the 13th game Maxey missed with his injury.
Embiid’s night
Embiid finished with 30 or more points for the sixth straight game. On this night, the five-time All-Star did most of his damage in the third quarter, scoring 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting — including making 2 of 3 3-pointers.
But it was his alley-oop dunk that gave the Sixers a commanding 112-99 lead with 2:42 left.
A tough time
The Sixers looked like a team playing in slow motion in the first half, trailing Golden State by as many 11 points in the first quarter.
They were able to turn things around thanks to a 23-6 run that gave the Sixers a 12-point cushion with 1 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter. They also benefited from the Warriors’ sharpshooters cooling off after intermission. Golden State shot 75% from 3 in the first quarter and 55% from the distance in the first half. However, they were 2 for 13 from deep in the fourth quarter.
Curry’s relief
Curry is expected to be out three weeks to a month with his injury. However, he and the Warriors are elated that his injury doesn’t require surgery, which would have meant a longer timeline to return.
“Knowing that it wasn’t going to need surgery or anything like that was great news,” Curry said Friday morning. “Now, you just have to trust the process — no pun intended — from where we are. We’re just trying to figure out how to get pain-free quickly, get your strength back, and then work your way back into it appropriately.”
The two-time MVP suffered the injury in Wednesday’s road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
DiVincenzo’s hot quarter
DiVincenzo, the former Villanova standout, got his second consecutive start Friday. And he did his Curry impersonation in the first quarter.
That’s when the fifth-year guard scored 15 of his points while making 5 of 6 3-pointers. DiVincenzo made his first five attempts. His 15 points are the most points he’s scored in any quarter in his career. His previous career best was 12. He scored that with a Milwaukee Bucks in the third quarter on March 6, 2020, at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Up next
The Sixers will entertain the Raptors at 7 p.m. in the fifth game of their seven-game homestand. This will mark the third meeting for the Atlantic Division foes. The Sixers split a two-game series against Toronto in October at Scotiabank Arena.
