Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors, and Joel Embiid #21 and De’Anthony Melton #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers reach for a rebound during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center on December 16, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Joel Embiid had 34 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals, James Harden added 27 points and nine assists and the host Philadelphia 76ers defeated the depleted Golden State Warriors 118-106 on Friday.
De’Anthony Melton contributed 17 points while Georges Niang and Shake Milton chipped in with 11 apiece for the Sixers, who won their fourth in a row.
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 29 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kevon Looney had 14 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high nine assists. Klay Thompson also scored 12 points but shot 4 of 17.
“They made a lot of shots, they were hot to start the game,” Embiid. “We knew at some point they were going to cool down. We just had to stay aggressive, get stops.”
Steph Curry (shoulder), Andrew Wiggins (thigh), Draymond Green (quad) and Andre Iguodala (hip) were all sidelined for the Warriors, who fell to 2-14 on the road.
“He’s unguardable.”@DeAnthonyMelton on @JoelEmbiid. @PennMedicine pic.twitter.com/aO4Ro8lO4J
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 17, 2022
The Sixers played without Tyrese Maxey for a 13th consecutive game with a fractured left foot. Tobias Harris (back) and Furkan Korkmaz (non-COVID illness) were also out.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 11-point lead and maintained a 51-45 advantage when Looney dropped in two free throws with 3:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Poole had his layup blocked by Embiid just before the buzzer, but the Warriors led 57-55 at halftime.
Poole knocked down consecutive treys and the Warriors went ahead 68-62 with 8:37 to go in the third.
Embiid made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Sixers regained a 71-70 lead with 6:32 remaining.
The Sixers then pulled out to an 88-81 advantage at the end of the third.
Niang was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three shots for a 98-83 lead with 9:12 left in the fourth.
Thompson responded with a trey, Ty Jerome drove to the basket and scored and James Wiseman threw down a dunk for the Warriors to slice the deficit to eight.
Embiid’s three-point play with 4:21 left gave the Sixers a 107-97 lead.