SAN FRANCISCO – Jordan Poole scored a team-high 33 points off the bench, including a clutch three-pointer with 1:18 left in the fourth quarter. Stephen Curry finished with 29 points and eight rebounds to help the Golden State Warriors secure a 120-112 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
The Warriors (39-36) found themselves down by 11 points in the fourth quarter before Poole came alive, scoring 12 straight points (19 overall). Poole shot 10-for-19 from the field, with six made triples for the Warriors, who have won nine straight games at Chase Center.
“Tonight something about it felt like last year in that playoff run when Jordan was just attacking and knocking down shots but also getting to the line just giving us an entirely different dimension offensively,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s when he’s at his best. I thought he really competed down the stretch defensively as well. He was magnificent tonight.”
Golden State outscored Philadelphia 41-24 in the final frame.
The Warriors couldn’t stop Joel Embiid, who scored 13 straight points in the fourth quarter on his way to a game-high 46 points.
Embiid shot 13-for-23 from the field, but made his living at the free throw line, knocking down 19 of 22. As a team, Golden State shot 18-of-24 on free throws. He finished with nine rebounds eight assists and two steals. The MVP frontrunner helped the 76ers take an 88-79 lead going into the fourth.
Philadelphia (49-23) played without All-Star guard James Harden, who sat out tonight’s game with left Achilles soreness. Tobias Harris had 23 points and six rebounds and Tyrese Maxey added 21 points, the 76ers won 9 of 10 games prior to their matchup with Golden State.
Curry slipped by Embiid for the go-ahead layup with 2:20 left in the game. Klay Thompson’s sixth made three-pointer tied the game at 104-104 with 5:05 left to play. Thompson finished with 21 points and six rebounds.
Poole’s driving dunk with 8:27 left got Golden State back to 93-91. Kevon Looney’s putback after Embiid blocked a layup by Poole cut the 76ers lead to 102-101. Looney finished with six points and 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who have now won nine of their last 11 home games against the 76ers and improving to 30-7 at Chase Center this season.
Golden State’s won at least 30 games at home for the sixth time since 2014-15 and the second straight season eclipsing the mark according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“You want to take care of home court as best as you can,” said Poole.
Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who are riding a wave of momentum with their third straight win following an 11-game losing streak away from home.
With seven games remaining in the season and the playoffs on the horizon, Green is getting into postseason mode.
“I feel good. It’s that time of year you’ve got to turn everything up a notch,” Green said. “I love this time of year.”
Golden State’s reserves outscored Philadelphia’s bench 54-14.
The 76ers are back on the court tomorrow night as they travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns, while the Warriors host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon at Chase Center.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
