Steph Curry goes nuts as Sixers get destroyed by Warriors to end West Coast swing

Yeah, that’s why you needed to beat the Kings on Wednesday.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Sixers laid an egg on national television, falling 139-105 to the Golden State Warriors Thursday night.

Back in the lineup, Joel Embiid scored 28 points on 8-of-19 shooting, going 11-of-14 from the free throw line. Much of that was done after the game was well in-hand.

Paul George shot it well, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-12, but also didn’t get going until the Warriors sprinted way out in front. Tyrese Maxey struggled from the field, going 4-of-13 for 14 points. He also had six assists and three turnovers.

Steph Curry led all scorers with 30. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from three-point range.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Picking up right where they lift off from the night before, the Sixers turned the ball over four times over the first four minutes of the game. It was the same silly, unforced errors with a charging foul on George sprinkled in as well. They also started 2-of-11 from the floor, only getting a couple of layups to fall early.
• Embiid bailed the defense out multiple times in the opening minutes, but the defense continued to get ripped apart by backdoor cuts. After getting denied a couple of times, Trayce Jackson-Davis finally managed to slam one down over the big fella.
• The lone positive from the quarter was Guerschon Yabuselse, who was able to slip down into the post and use his size for a few buckets. He also bullied his way by Jonathan Kuminga and finished with a reverse layup as he led the team early with eight points. All seven field goals the Sixers made in the quarter were inside the paint. The Warriors finished the quarter shooting 59% from the field, and led by 16.

Second Quarter

• Fittingly, Yabu bucked that trend by knocking down Philly’s first three of the night. Maxey and George shortly followed suit, but that didn’t make up any ground at all as the Warriors matched each three. On top of that, they continued to have a field day at the rim against the Sixers’ small ball unit, not that the first did much better though.
• George quietly settled into a 5-of-7 start from the field. Maxey on the other hand continued to struggle. He opted for drives to the basket instead of swinging to a couple of open teammates, which would have been fine, had he not completely smoked the layups. Most of Maxey’s troubles at the rim have looked doomed from the start but tonight it was clean looks.

• Upon Embiid’s return to the game, the Sixers cobbled together a couple of solid possessions, though the best they were able to do was the get the lead down to 10. He got going a bit offensively by getting to the free throw line five times, scoring nine in the quarter. He also got sick of the mask for a bit, leaving it on top of his head for a few trips down the floor before finally flipping it back down. After an even quarter, the Sixers went into the break again trailing by 16.

Third Quarter

• The break didn’t help much as Philly’s half started with more ugly turnovers and fouls as well as jumpers with no legs under them. Lowry looks very out of place in the starting lineup. It doesn’t look like there’s anything he can provide other than annoying people into fouling him. He was pulled quickly after picking up a couple of his own.
• Every time the Sixers chipped away a bit, they’d seem to have a disjointed possession that undid everything. Caleb Martin passed up an open three and got his layup attempt blocked at the rim. A quick heater from Curry suddenly gave the Warriors their largest lead of the night.
• Embiid continued to live at the line. He took nine more attempts in the quarter, but that was about it offensively as the Warriors continued to run up the score. The Sixers trailed by 25 after three.

Fourth Quarter

• Maxey and PG were out there to start the quarter and there was really no reason for it. They so clearly didn’t have it tonight. It was time to shut things down for the night, especially for those who played the night before in Sacramento.
• The Sixers come back to the East Coast to wrap this trip up. They’ll finish up in Brooklyn Saturday against the Nets at 6 p.m. ET.