In the first contest to kick off a five-game east coast road swing, the Golden State battled the Philadelphia 76ers for three consecutive quarters. Yet, a sloppy final period stunted the Warriors bid for an upset win.
Going into the fourth quarter, Golden State only trailed by four points, but a slow start to the fourth quarter that resulted in only 35 % shooting from the field. A combined 17 fourth-quarter points from Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Al Horford closed the Warriors out, 115-104.
D’Angelo Russell carried the Warriors, scoring 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting, adding seven assists and five boards. Paring with Russell, Draymond Green netted a near triple-double in Philadelphia, tallying 12 assists, nine points and nine rebounds.
Golden State will now make the trip to Massachusetts to face the Eastern Conference power, the Boston Celtics on the second leg of their road trip.
Remembering Kobe Bryant
In the first game in his hometown since his tragic death, Kobe Bryant’s impact in not only the city of Philadelphia but the game of basketball was on full display.
Starting with the 76ers’ warmup attire, players wore exclusive “Bryant” editions of their white home jerseys. Bryant, his daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were honored with a moment of silence on the video board before tip-off.
At the start of the game, the 76ers took an eight-second violation following with Golden State taking a 24-second penalty as an ode to both of Bryant’s jersey numbers he wore with Los Angeles.
Lastly, Philadelphia center, Joel Embiid, wore Bryant’s No. 24 jersey instead of his No. 21 in honor of the fallen legend against Golden State. Embiid ended the evening, leading the 76ers with the same amount of points as his new jersey number.