Warriors at 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are battling through injuries and staying in the win column, with a home victory over the Western Conference-best Los Angeles Lakers the latest sign that they are ready to compete at the highest level. The 76ers will try to maintain that intensity when they finish off the two-game homestand by hosting the NBA-worst Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
Philadelphia, which embarks on a four-game road trip beginning Thursday that will see stops at fellow East contenders Boston, Miami and Milwaukee, is close to getting All-Star center Joel Embiid (finger) back in the lineup following a nine-game absence but is having no trouble finding pieces to fill holes. "Guys weren't making excuses," Forward Al Horford, who is manning the middle with Embiid out, told reporters after beating the Lakers with a pair of starters missing. "We just came out and said, 'Hey, we are going to take on the challenge and roll with it.' It speaks a lot about this group. They are hungry. They are ready to play. And a lot of the guys that come off the bench, whatever you throw at them they are going to try to do their best." The Warriors aren't going to feel sorry for any team given its own injury issues, and the five-time defending Western Conference champs are trying to get by without the likes of Stephen Curry (hand) and Klay Thompson (knee). Golden State dropped its last three games and 13 of 14 as it embarks on a five-game East Coast trip.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Bay Area, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (10-37): Golden State allowed 129 points in each of its last three games and didn't have quite enough firepower on the offensive end to make up for the defensive issues despite some impressive performances from D'Angelo Russell. The 23-year-old went 9-of-13 from 3-point range and finished with 37 points to keep the Warriors close in a 129-118 loss to Indiana on Friday. Russell went for at least 26 points in each of the last four games and got some support on Friday from small forward Glenn Robinson III, who is making his way back from an ankle sprain and scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 37 minutes.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (30-17): Point guard Ben Simmons had a tooth knocked out in the first half on Saturday but returned to the game and finished with 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Simmons is taking on more of the scoring with Embiid and shooting guard Josh Richardson (hamstring) out of the lineup and is 29-of-36 from the floor over the last three games to push his averages for January to 21.8 points on 64.1 percent shooting. Shake Milton made his first career start in place of Richardson on Saturday and contributed seven points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. 76ers F Tobias Harris scored 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting Saturday after shooting under 50 percent from the floor in each of the previous four contests.
2. Warriors PF Kevon Looney (abdomen) sat out the last 16 games but is reportedly close to making a return.
3. Golden State earned a 120-117 victory at Philadelphia last season as Curry, DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant combined for 87 points.