Curry-less Warriors rally to beat 76ers

FILE – Eric Paschall #7 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates making a three point basket against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on March 03, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. ( Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

SAN FRANCISCO — Eric Paschall scored 23 points, including a pair of free throws with 51.7 seconds remaining, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-114 on Saturday night to snap a 10-game home losing streak.

Playing once again without Stephen Curry, the Warriors trailed most of the game and were down by eight entering the fourth quarter.

Curry, who returned from a 58-game absence to play Thursday night, was diagnosed with the flu and was held out. The Warriors termed it a seasonal flu and said that Curry has begun treatment. The team also said that Curry is not at specific risk for COVID-19 or coronavirus.

“I know his young son was sick for a couple days so probably got it from his son,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Our doctors checked him out and it is the basic flu.”

Philadelphia was missing stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, while Golden State also was without Draymond Green.

Damion Lee’s three-point play put Golden State ahead 113-111. Tobias Harris answered with a go-ahead 3-pointer, but was called for a three-second violation on Philadelphia’s next possession following Lee’s missed 3-pointer.

After Paschall made his two free throws, the Sixers missed three consecutive shots, including a 32-foot jumper by Shake Milton. Mychal Mulder then made two free throws and Philadelphia got the ball back, but Furkan Korkmaz stepped out-of-bounds.

“It took until the fourth quarter to really get much traction defensively,” Kerr said. “Philadelphia did a good job beating us inside for the first three quarters … but our guys hung in there and kept the game close. And then fourth quarter really turned up the defense and we got a lot of great individual performances, too.”

Lee finished with 24 points and six rebounds to help the Warriors avoid being swept by the Sixers in the season series. Marquese Chriss added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Golden State won at Chase Center for the first time since Jan. 18.

“We were just making the right play for each other,” Chriss said. “We were playing unselfish, we were cutting without the ball.”

Harris scored 24 points and Al Horford had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia. The Sixers fell a half-game behind the Indiana Pacers for fifth place in the East.

“The closeout period, the fourth quarter, defensively we were poor,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “When you look at bottom-line stuff, giving up almost 60 points in the paint, it’s tough to win (in) any situation if you’re giving up that many points in the paint and at the rim.”

TIP-INS

76ers: Embiid has missed five consecutive games because of a sprained left shoulder. He will be re-evaluated early next week. Josh Richardson (concussion) did not play.

Warriors: Golden State avoided its first 11-game losing streak at home since 1997-98. … Kevon Looney (hip soreness) was also held out. Looney has not played since Feb. 29 and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

EARNING HIS KEEP

Mulder came up with some big plays on the final day of his 10-day contract with Golden State. Mulder scored the final three points of the game on free throws and also made a pivotal 3-pointer with two minutes remaining. “(Mulder) is fantastic, a really good player. Good defensively as well,” Kerr said. “We’re anxious to get him back some way.”

UP NEXT

76ers: Play the Pistons on Wednesday to begin a four-game homestand.

Warriors: Host the Clippers on Tuesday night. Golden State has lost both games against Los Angeles this season.