OAKLAND, Calif. _ The stars rested in San Antonio on Saturday, the entire team rested on Sunday, then they practiced on Monday for the first time in a week. The "recharge," as the Golden State Warriors have been calling it, was supposed to finally show itself on Tuesday. The lowly, visiting Sixers were in town to play patsies.
But for three quarters, 22-42 Philadelphia outplayed the malfunctioning megateam, down a star and stripped of its powers. They entered the fourth trailing by 12. But the low-point of this extended slump finally produced enough desperation to spring an encouraging moment.
Urged by a pleading Oracle crowd, the Warriors surged back for a 106-104 win on the back of a 28-14 fourth quarter.
Two familiar factors changed the game: the return of Steph Curry's lethal 3-point shot and the defensive domination from Draymond Green down the stretch.
Curry staggered through the first few quarters, continuing a shooting slump that has coincided with this team's malaise. He missed five of his first six 3s, pushing him to 19-of-81 from deep the past seven-and-a-half games. Many of the bricks were wide open looks, ending with a clang and a frustrated Curry shoulder shrug.
Sitting wide open in the right corner in the final seconds of the third quarter, he missed a momentum changer, which would've shed the Warriors lead down to single-digits heading to the fourth. The miss summed up the night to that point. But it wasn't an indicator of what lied ahead.
Coming out of the between quarter timeout, a desperate Oracle crowd roared to life, trying to will its team to life and jolt its frustrated superstar. Joe Lacob, the team's majority owner, was so amped up at one pointearly in the fourth quarter, he got in a defensive stance as the team rotated around the perimeter trying to slow the Sixers.
Green started the fourth quarter with a layup. Then they got a stop. Then Curry stepped into and nailed a wing 3. The place was as electric as it had been all season. The Sixers called timeout.
But the momentum didn't slow. Two Curry free throws were followed by a David West strip of a Dario Saric drive. A Curry mid-range jumper followed. A West 20-footer, a Green 3 and a Shaun Livingston mid-range jumper (finally after some extended struggles) capped a 15-2 burst to give them a lead with 7:33 left.
The rest of the quarter was about fighting off a pesky Sixers team.
To do that, the Warriors used the finally unlocked Curry, who nailed a 27-footer on the wing with 5:50 left and a smooth corner 3 off an Andre Iguodala shovel feed with 3:42 left to provide enough offensive punch. Curry made four of his final seven 3s.
But the Warriors, surprisingly unfocused on defense much of the night despite the recent rest, needed to crank it up in the fourth. Green provided the energy, sternly directed his teammates into the proper spots while rotating around everywhere to cover up any mistakes.
Green had an incredible help-side block on a Jahlil Okafor drive with 8:53 left, which led to two Curry free throws. He spiked a T.J. McConnell layup out of bounds soon after.
Then he may have made the smartest play of the night with just a few seconds left.
The Sixers, down 3, turned the ball over with eight seconds left. A streaking Matt Barnes opted against dribbling out the clock and absorbing a foul. He went in for the punctuation dunk and clanked it off the back rim. The Sixers pushed it upcourt, needing a 3 to tie the game.
But before they could get off a look, Green sprinted over to foul. It meant the Sixers would have to shoot two free throws, purposely missing the second and hoping for a desperation rebound and tip-back _ far more unlikely than a made 3.
The Sixers couldn't execute and Green's smarts sealed the win and added his latest signature performance in his Defensive Player of the Year chase.
And in doing so, he helped the Warriors avoid a disastrous loss at home and snap a 3-game skid.
