PHILADELPHIA — The Golden State Warriors’ 34 clutch games played lead the league, but delivered a rare runaway 127-104 victory on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the contending Philadelphia 76ers, albeit playing without superstar Joel Embiid. The Warriors move to 3-1 on this road trip with another game to play and move up to a 23-25 record.
Andrew Wiggins, under the trade deadline spotlight, had one of his better games this season. He had his second double-double of the year by the end of the third quarter, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Wiggins’ performance helped flip a 15-point first quarter, tied for their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, with a 43-point third quarter to take a commanding 23-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Up 25 mid-way through the fourth quarter, coach Steve Kerr pulled the regulars and cleared the bench for a rare break.
Klay Thompson answered his crunch time benching against the Brooklyn Nets with a solid bounce back performance, scoring 18 points shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3 in 28 minutes played. Jonathan Kuminga had 18 points and six rebounds and Lester Quinones came off the bench hot, scoring 13 points, shooting 3s only, where he shot 4-for-7.
Scoring from Thompson, Wiggins, Kuminga and Quinones afforded Steph Curry a quiet night; he had nine points and didn’t score his first field goal until the third quarter. It marked the third time this season Curry scored fewer than 10 points — the others came against the Toronto Raptors, where had nine points, and the Portland Trail Blazers, where he did not make a 3 and scored seven.
The Warriors finish off this five-game road trip on a back-to-back in Indiana against the Pacers, which will tip off hours after the trade deadline. Then they return home to play the Phoenix Suns before taking off again to Salt Lake City to play the Jazz.