76ers at Warriors
Stephen Curry is back and the energy around the Golden State Warriors is different, but it has yet to show up in the win column. Curry will try to lead his unfamiliar teammates to a victory when the Warriors host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Curry played for the first time Thursday since suffering a broken hand on Oct. 30 and scored a team-high 23 points on 6-of-16 shooting in 27 minutes for Golden State, which dropped a 121-113 decision to Toronto to push its NBA-worst record to 14-49. "I thought he looked great, moved well," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Curry. "It was not the ideal set of circumstances for him - we were taking him in and out of the lineup to keep his minutes down and to keep his stints shorter. He's not used to that. But he obviously gave us a huge lift, and he changes the whole game when he's out there." The 76ers are familiar with injuries to star players and expect to again be without center Joel Embiid (shoulder) and Ben Simmons (back) as they attempt to win back-to-back road games for the first time in over six weeks. Philadelphia snapped a nine-game road losing streak and improved to 10-23 away from home with a 125-108 triumph behind 28 points and 14 rebounds from Tobias Harris at Sacramento on Thursday.
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: ABC, TSN2
ABOUT THE 76ERS (38-25): Philadelphia dropped games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers to begin the four-game trip but knocked down 17 3-pointers and forced 18 turnovers in the win over the Kings. "We feel like we've been playing better on the road, we just haven't gotten the result that we were expecting," 76ers center Al Horford told reporters. "Finally, tonight, we put one together and got a win. All our guys were helping each other out there. It was just fun - it was just fun to get a win." Horford collected 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists while starting in place of Embiid on Thursday and Shake Milton added 20 points in Simmons' spot.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (14-49): Golden State was facing the Raptors for the first time since losing Game 6 of the NBA Finals last season and Curry was the only Warriors player to take the court on Thursday from the team that lost that series. The rebuilt roster was excited to get a chance to play with Curry, and the team is hoping he can develop some chemistry with the likes of small forward Andrew Wiggins that can carry into next season. "He makes everyone great," Wiggins told reporters of Curry. "He makes everyone play better. He finds open men. He's like the most unselfish superstar. That's a good way to put it. He attracts so much attention that he's going to find the open man, and he makes the right play, so it was fun."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. 76ers SG Alec Burks, who arrived in a trade from Golden State at the deadline, is averaging 11.1 points in nine games for his new team.
2. Warriors F Draymond Green (knee) sat out six of the last seven games but could return Saturday.
3. Philadelphia earned a 115-104 home win over Golden State on Jan. 28.