How Warriors secured win over Sixers despite poor start

PHILADELPHIA – It took only seven seconds before Warriors coach Steve Kerr called a timeout to chew out his players out for not running a play correctly. It took only 45 seconds into the second quarter before Kerr called another timeout to express his displeasure for his players conceding yet another uncontested dunk.

It all summed up Kerr’s frustration with the Warriors’ seemingly lack of desire to contest the Sixers’ open lanes to the basket or pass the ball with any fluidity. It seemed the Warriors finally faced a halftime deficit too steep for their talent and effort to overcome.

And, just like that, the Warriors proved otherwise. They secured a 124-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday after putting together a historically great third-quarter effort to offset a horrifically awful first-quarter embarrassment.

The Warriors (12-4) allowed the Sixers to score 47 first-quarter points, the worst defensive output they showed since conceding 48 first-quarter points to Portland nearly 25 years ago. After trailing, 74-52, at halftime, the Warriors scored 47 third-quarter points and outscored their opponent by 32 points in a single quarter for the first time since doing the same thing to the Buffalo Braves almost 45 years ago.

The Warriors’ star power helped. After missing nine of his 14 shots in the first half, Warriors guard Stephen Curry had 20 of his team-leading 35 points while shooting efficiently from the field (11-of-22), from 3-point range (4-of-9) and from the free-throw line (9-of-9). Warriors forward Kevin Durant added 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting in what marked the seventh consecutive game he played with at least 20 points.

The Warriors’ effort helped even more. After the Sixers shot 58.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range in the first half, the Warriors held them to a 31.8 percent clip from the field and a 14.3 percent mark from 3-point range in the third quarter.

Check back later for the full report from the locker room.

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