PHILADELPHIA — The Golden State Warriors lead the NBA with 34 clutch games played, but they enjoyed a rare runaway victory on Wednesday, beating the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers 127-104 at Wells Fargo Center.
The Warriors (23-25) are now 3-1 on this road trip that wraps up Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers.
Andrew Wiggins, under the trade deadline spotlight, picked up his second double-double of the season as he finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, all by the end of the third quarter.
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.
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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, who 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.
