76ers at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors looked more like the team that ripped through a 16-game winning streak in its last victory and will try to make it back-to-back triumphs when they host the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. The Warriors lost back-to-back games last week and three of five overall after their record winning streak but got back to balance and ball movement against Minnesota on Saturday. The 76ers are struggling since their road trip switched to the Western Conference.
Philadelphia won back-to-back games for the first time this season when it swept through Florida with victories at Orlando and Miami but has lost its stops in Portland and Utah by an average of 19 points. Golden State struggled in back-to-back losses to the Lakers and the Clippers but turned it up on the defensive end against the Timberwolves on Saturday and scored 36 points off 25 forced turnovers. “We have really good players, so if we lose a couple, they get really competitive,” Warrior coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “It’s a good combination to be really talented and you compete. Both times we’ve lost two in a row, it’s angered us, and we’ve gotten more locked in and more focused.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (4-25): Philadelphia shot 32.4 percent in an 88-71 loss at Utah on Saturday, low-lighted by a career-worst 2-of-20 from Michael Carter-Williams. The poor performance prompted the reigning Rookie of the Year, along with fellow guard Tony Wroten, to search out an open gym when the team arrived in town on Sunday. “I wanted to go in the gym and just get my rhythm back,” Carter-Williams told the 76ers’ official website. “I’m trying to improve my jump shot, so any time I can get in the gym and get up some shots is good, no matter if I went 20-for-20.”
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (24-5): The key to Golden State’s early success – beyond the 1-2 scoring punch of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson – has been the maturation of forward Draymond Green, who got a chance to begin the season in the starting lineup due to David Lee’s hamstring injury and immediately became a key on both ends of the floor. Green had eight rebounds, six assists, six steals and three blocks in a representative performance on Saturday. “I told him in the locker room that it was the greatest four-point performance that I’ve ever seen. I mean that,” Kerr told reporters. “He is our heart and soul. He’s the key to our defense.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors C Festus Ezeli (ankle) is expected to miss his third straight game.
2. Philadelphia F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (calf) left Saturday’s game and is not expected to play Tuesday.
3. Golden State took both meetings last season by an average of 31.5 points.