PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers knocked the Golden State Warriors out of first place and put Steph Curry’s record-setting moment on hold.
They accomplished both things with a 102-93 upset Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The victory improved the Sixers to 15-12 and marked their fifth win in six games. Meanwhile, the Warriors (21-5) fell a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns for the league and Western Conference’s best record. It was just Golden State’s third loss in its last 13 games.
After Seth Curry gave the Sixers a 93-83 cushion with 3 minutes, 19 seconds remaining, Joel Embiid scored the Sixers’ next seven points to make it a 100-89 game with 1:08 left. Tobias Harris then added a pair of foul shots to extend the Sixers cushion to 13 points with 46.8 seconds remaining.
Embiid finished with a game-high 26 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. The four-time All-Star made all 11 of his foul shots. Sixteen of his points came after intermission.
Harris added 16 points and nine rebounds. He went 7-for-7 from the foul line.
Steph Curry will have to wait at least another game to break the record for the most threes in NBA history. Curry came into night needing 10 three-pointers to pass Ray Allen (2,973) for the record.
The two-time MVP, however, shot 3-for-14 from three and has 2,966. He finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
There was thought that Curry could reach the milestone while playing against his brother, Sixers shooting guard Seth Curry.
But during Friday’s practice at Temple University, Steph downplayed chasing the record against his brother.
“You can create a narrative for any of these four games coming up,” Curry said at the time. “Playing against Seth; knowing how much Reggie [Miller] meant to Indiana; obviously, the [Madison Square] Garden speaks for itself; and Boston, where Ray passed Reggie on that floor. We’ll find a special narrative wherever it happens.”
But Sixers coach Doc Rivers had coached Allen for a five seasons with the Boston Celtics. Before Saturday’s game, Rivers was asked to compare Allen and Steph Curry.
Rivers called them both terrific shooters.
“You know, it’s funny, you know, Steph just his imagination,” Rivers said, “the threes that he’s made off the dribble and the point and the players he made them from have made him just an unbelievable shooter, obviously. But there’s just different eras.
“And one guy said we didn’t play that way. We didn’t take that many threes. And yet Ray was still able to get the record that he got.”
Allen averaged 5.7 three-point attempts over an 18-year career. Curry, a 13th-year veteran, averaged 8.7 in 786 career games heading into Saturday night.
Thybulle’s solid defense on Curry
Sixers defensive standout Matisse Thybulle started in place of Danny Green at small forward to guard Steph Curry. He did a solid on the two-time league scoring champion.
Curry shot 1-for-6 in the first quarter, missing both of three-point attempts. Thybulle, however, picked up his second foul early the second quarter. His third foul came with 2 minutes, 26 seconds before intermission. The call was controversial as Curry tripped on his own feet.
Before Thybulle left the game, Curry missed his first three three-pointers. But with Thybulle on the bench, Curry converted his next attempt with 1:45 to go before intermission to knot the score at 42.
Then his second three-pointer gave the Warriors a 49-44 with 17.9 seconds before the half.
Thybulle finished with two blocks, both coming on Curry shots.
Sixers giving back
Sixers managing partner Josh Harris presented Tobias Harris with the October NBA Cares Community Assists Award before the game. On the heels of that, Josh Harris committed $20,000 to the Mary McLeod Bethune School as part of Tobias Harris’ Lit Labs program. The owner shares his player’s commitment in improving literacy and educational outcomes for the Philly region’s youth.
“The 76ers organization believes in leveraging the incredible platform of sports to better the communities we serve,” the Sixers said in a statement. “Tobias Harris embodies that mission and we’re fortunate that he is one of our leaders on and off the court. We’re thrilled he is being recognized with the NBA Cares Community Assist Award and proud to support his efforts to improve the reading levels of children in our city.”
