The Golden State Warriors are off to a rocky start on their three-game road trip. The Warriors’ offense got off to an icy start in Philadelphia on Thursday night without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the first quarter against the 76ers, the Warriors’ offense scored only 10 points in 12 minutes. The Warriors made 4 of 24 shots in the quarter. The Golden State Warriors’ offense lasted seven minutes without scoring a point. The Golden State Warriors’ 10 points in a single quarter is the lowest scoring team in a single quarter in the NBA this season and the lowest scoring for the Golden State Warriors in the Steve Kerr era.
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Fortunately for the Warriors, there were three quarters left to decide the outcome. However, in the second quarter, the Warriors’ situation did not get better. Just when the Warriors failed to take advantage of the 76ers, another main player of the Warriors suffered an injury. Draymond Green injured his right leg in the second quarter, which caused him to miss the second half of Philadelphia’s game.
However, the Warriors didn’t wave the white flag despite being down 22 points at halftime with Curry, Butler and Green all out. In the third quarter, led by De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors began to counterattack.
In his season debut, Melton scored 14 points, including 12 in the second half. Along with Melton, Pat Spencer once again came off the bench for the Warriors. Spencer scored 16 points after scoring 14 in the second half.
As the momentum began to shift in the Warriors’ favor, the Sixers went cold. In the third quarter, the Warriors made seven turnovers to reduce the 76ers’ lead to 14 points. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors continued to take the lead. The Warriors went on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter, widening the score gap to within five points of the 76ers. Timely hits from Spencer, Post and Gui Santos, including two 3-pointers, erased Philadelphia’s advantage and took the lead.
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Despite the performances of Spencer and Melton, the 76ers are not going away. In a thrilling final period, the Sixers forced a steal in the first eight seconds, giving them a chance to steal the game in the final seconds. With the Warriors holding a one-point lead, Tyrese Maxey hit a potential game-winner, but rookie VJ Edgecomb’s putback put the Sixers ahead 99-98. With 0.9 seconds left in the game, Buddy Hield quickly passed the ball to Melton for a last-second buzzer-beating layup. However, Maxey was there to pull off a game-sealing play that set the door on Golden State’s storybook comeback.
While it was Spencer and Melton’s show in the end, Steve Kerr elected not to play Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Pozzimski in the fourth quarter. Neither player logged a minute in the final frame.
The Warriors have lost six of their last eight games and fall to 11-12 on the season. The Warriors will have Friday night off before taking on their former rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Saturday night.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors’ epic comeback against Sixers fails in heartbreaking fashion