Tonight, in the first game of the West Coast trip this week, the Sixers defeated the Golden State Warriors 108-98.
It was a competition of ups and downs for the Sixers.
They won the first quarter by 35-17. They entered the range with a 14 point advantage. Then, in the third quarter, Sixers was attacked. The Warriors brutalized the second unit of the Sixers on their way to a 40-21 quarter, which gave Golden State the lead for the fourth. Fortunately for Sixers fans, the Sixers starters turned the game on just enough to win, winning the final frame by 28-13.
Tobias Harris recovered from a tough game against the Knicks on Sunday night with 25 points from 18 shots and 13 rebounds.
Ben Simmons was aggressive at both ends throughout the game, and the All-Star ended with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Reversing the recent tendency to slow down free-throw attempts, SImmons made 14 pitches from the charity streak tonight, hitting 8.
Tony Bradley, starting again for the injured Joel Embiid, played an excellent game on both ends. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal (which should be) a season record of 33 minutes.
The Sixers shot just 29 percent out of three tonight, converting just 7 of their 24 attempts.
Shake Milton played well, totaling 14 points and 4 assists as the only member of the bench with +/- positive for the game (+6).
Dwight Howard had a bad game overall, missing all six shots he tried and accumulating 3 fouls in just 14 minutes. To his credit, Dwight had 13 rebounds. Again, he played just 14 minutes. The complete Dwight experience, I would say.
The Sixers advance to 31-13 and maintain seed # 1 in the Eastern Conference.
Next for the Sixers, of course, is Thursday’s 3 pm trading deadline. Rumors about Daryl Morey’s Sixers are already circulating:
In addition to Lowry, Sixers showed interest in other guards available on the market – including Powell, Lonzo Ball and George Hill, the sources said.
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 24, 2021
We’ll see how many players played their last game with a 76ers jersey tonight.
After the deadline, the Sixers will face LeBron James and Anthony Davis-less Lakers at 10pm.