One day after failing to extend a four-game winning streak without the services of Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers will attempt to start a new winning string with him Thursday night when they visit the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Embiid, who has a sore left foot of late, sat out the front end of a back-to-back on Wednesday, in Sacramento, watching his teammates blow a late nine-point lead by going scoreless over the final 3:34 of a 113-107 defeat.
Interestingly, the 76ers also were on the second night of a back-to-back when they fell 119-107 to the Warriors in San Francisco last Jan. 30 while taking the same approach with their star center. Embiid sat out a 130-104 loss at Portland one night before putting up 14 points to no avail against the Warriors.
A question mark this time is the status of fellow veteran Paul George, who played 36 minutes and had 30 points against the Kings. His last absence came on the second night of a back-to-back on Dec. 4 against the Orlando Magic after he had scored 29 points against the Charlotte Hornets the night before.
George took a hard fall in the second quarter in Sacramento and had a heating pad on his back during a short stint on the bench. He was, however, able to return to action as part of a regular rotation later in the period.
In classic one-day-at-a-time fashion, 76ers coach Nick Nurse has been proud of how his players have focused their attention on the court of late, rather than to who was off the court on that particular night.
“I’ve been saying for a while: We’re just starting to play a lot better,” Nurse said. “We’ve gone a long stretch where we are starting to take whatever has come. We have a few minor injuries, and we just keep on rolling. We are dealing with some foul trouble, and we just keep on rolling.
“What I’m most happy with is that we’re starting to get a defensive mentality to us. And that can take you a long ways.”
The last thing the Warriors need at this point is a strong defensive effort by the opponent. They’ve struggled enough on their own, failing to reach 100 points in six of their past 12 games.
Golden State, once 12-3, has won just four times in the past 17 games.
“We’re kind of in a rut right now,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We haven’t made shots now for a while. It feels like it should turn, but we have to try to find a way to help develop the rhythm with passing, with movement, with spacing to generate better shots.”
The Warriors are coming off an 18-point home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Stephen Curry was just 4-for-14 shooting en route to 11 points while Draymond Green missed 9 of his 10 shots in a two-point performance, contributing to the team’s dismal 33.3 percent shooting night.
A bright spot lately for the Warriors has been Jonathan Kuminga. He had consecutive 34-point outings before going for 18 as part of a double-double with 10 rebounds against the Cavaliers.
The Warriors swept the two-game season series from the 76ers last season, following their 12-point home win in January with a 127-104 romp at Philadelphia eight days later in a game Embiid missed with an injured left knee.
–Field Level Media
