Sixers run out of gas on last game of road trip vs. Warriors

The Sixers wrapped up their six-game road trip in San Francisco, dropping Wednesday night’s game 116-96 to the Golden State Warriors.

While two rotation players in Seth Curry and Danny Green returned for Philly, they were still down Tobias Harris, who missed his second straight game with hip soreness. The Sixers continue to be without Joel Embiid who is in the league’s health and safety protocols and Ben Simmons who is out for personal reasons. Doc Rivers started his 11th different lineup in just the 19th game of the season.

The Sixers once again put up a good fight despite once again being undermanned and overmatched. They led for all of the first half and were in the game until the fourth quarter before the Warriors were just too much.

Here are some observations from the Sixers’ last leg of this road trip.

Both returning players for the Sixers had an immediate impact. Curry put up 11 first-quarter points on 3 of 5 shooting. Green went 3 for 3 in the first quarter (2 for 2 from three). Curry would finish the game with 24 points, just one less than his brother, Steph.

The Sixers played some of their best defense all season in the first half. They held Golden State to 44.2 percent shooting from the field in the half, including a 20-4 run in the first quarter which helped them build an 11-point lead.

Tyrese Maxey continues to add an element to his game on a nightly basis. Tonight included this and-one on Steph Curry. Is this the start of Maxey getting some star calls in his favor?

The Warriors were able to get back into the game in the last three minutes of the first half after looking prior to that point. Back-to-back steals from Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle made it seem that the Sixers would keep a double-digit lead into halftime, until Jordan Poole did this.

Philly’s lead evaporated from 18 to nine points in the last 3:10 of the first half.

The Warriors had a very Warriors-esque third quarter, outscoring Philly 34-23. A quick 12-0 run at the beginning of the frame saw the Sixers lead shrink from nine to a three-point Warriors advantage. The Sixers had multiple scoring droughts last over three minutes in the third quarter.

The Sixers struggled to take care of the basketball, giving Golden State a lot of easy baskets. The Warriors outscored the Sixers 25-5 on the fast break.

Matisse Thybulle struggled offensively, turning it over three times. Andre Drummond also struggled in the second half, even picking up a three-second violation.

Thybulle had a heavy workload, as he was the primary defender on Steph Curry — you may have heard of him. Despite Steph finishing with 25 points and hitting six three pointers, Thybulle rose to the challenge.

Shake Milton did end the quarter just like the last one, with an insane buzzer beater.

The Sixers ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Drummond continued to struggle, he finished with one point. The decision to leave Drummond in the game as long as they did felt odd given the Sixers had some success with a small lineup in the third.

Despite another strong effort, the Sixers just couldn’t keep up. The Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter for good. The Sixers were outscored 64-35 in the second half. They should get some much needed reinforcements when they return home Saturday to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.