The Warriors didn't play a pretty game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night as they suffered their fifth loss of the season, falling 102-93 -- their lowest-scoring game of the season.
For the second game in a row, the Warriors' offense struggled to find any real rhythm. But unlike two nights before, it wasn't because they were force-feeding the ball to Steph Curry to try and get him going. It was just because the Sixers imposed their will. That, and then the Warriors missed most of the shots they had a good chance of making.
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Curry entered the game needing 10 3-pointers to break Ray Allen's NBA record for makes in a career, but the Warriors' star finished 3-of-14 from distance, meaning he still needs seven threes to set the record.
The Warriors (21-5) played solid defense to start the night. The first half was a grit-and-grind battle. But as the second half went on, the wheels came off for Golden State on both ends of the floor.
Here are three takeaways from the loss to the 76ers (15-12):
Second-half swing
Golden State Warriors
At the start of the third quarter, it looked like the Warriors were primed to put together another one of their game-changing third quarters. It appeared as though they had shaken off Philadelphia's stifling defense as they built a 12-point lead.
But just as quickly as they built it, it was taken away. The Sixers closed the quarter on a 9-0 run and tied the game early in the fourth quarter.
From there, it felt like the 76ers clamped down on Golden State even more than before. The Warriors had three consecutive empty possessions a few minutes into the fourth, all killed by turnovers -- most of which were unforced.
And even when the Warriors did get good looks -- some wide-opened -- they failed to hit any.
Up until that run, it felt like the Warriors were in position to fight back. But after, all of the momentum was shifting toward Philadelphia.
Limiting Steph
Once again, all eyes were on Curry as he made his next attempt at making NBA history on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
It didn't happen, as Curry had a rough shooting night, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting, including 3-for-14 from three.
Credit has to be given to the 76ers' defense. Matisse Thybulle was the primary defender on Curry and did a good job at sticking to his side like glue, barely giving Curry any space to operate.
The less-than-impressive numbers put up by Curry were on-trend with the rest of the Warriors' underwhelming offense. As a team, Golden State shot 39 percent from the floor, and 25.5 percent from beyond the arc.
A small bright spot
While the rest of the Warriors searched for an offensive rhythm, Andrew Wiggins had it from the jump.
Once again, Wiggins showed the damage he can do when he navigates the court with decisiveness and precision, doing work in the paint and beyond the 3-point line.
Wiggins finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including three 3-pointers, four assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal.
In the second half, it was Jordan Poole who joined Wiggins as the Warriors' other threat on offense, and he did it in spades.
Poole scored 23 points, going 7-for-17 from the floor and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Poole's initial burst was fueled by consecutive 3-pointers in the third -- just the latest example of the third-year player giving the Warriors an extra shot of adrenaline through big shots.