Warriors instant analysis: Spencer, Melton’s big nights not enough to hold off Sixers

PHILADELPHIA – Missing their two best players and facing a 76ers team wearing throwback 2001 jerseys, the Warriors paid tribute to the early-2000s Warriors by losing 99-98 and falling under .500, albeit in a spirited effort.

VJ Edgecombe won the game for the Sixers on a putback with 0.9 seconds left, and De’Anthony Melton’s last-chance layup on the leak-out was blocked at the buzzer by Tyrese Maxey. It was Melton’s first game played since tearing his ACL last November.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take the wins with the losses,” Melton said. “We battled, and by watching film of that second half, and understanding what we did and how we were moving the ball, how we were getting stops, I feel like we were way more connected.”

Steph Curry did not make the trip as he recovered from a quad injury, and Jimmy Butler was ruled out with knee soreness. 

Their absences were sorely, sorely, sorely felt in a first quarter that saw the bottom fall out. The Warriors missed 14 consecutive shots at one point, scoring just 10 points. It was the fewest the team has scored in a quarter in 11 seasons under coach Steve Kerr. 

It somehow got even worse late in the second quarter. With 4:33 left in the second quarter, Draymond Green got tangled up with Sixers forward Dominick Barlow. 

Green came up limping, and went straight to the locker room after the next stoppage. He was later ruled out with a right foot injury. He was later seen wearing a walking boot on that foot after the game, but Kerr said immediately after the game that he did not know the severity of Green’s injury.

The Warriors shot 14 of 48 from the field in the first half, but things improved during the third quarter. 

Keyed by Pat Spencer and Buddy Hield, the Warriors outscored the Sixers 32-24 in the quarter, and cut the deficit to 84-81 midway through the fourth quarter after going on a 15-0 run.

“The ball was just moving a lot better, and were getting downhill and getting second chance opportunities on the offensive glass,” Spencer said. “The compete level was way higher in that second half.”

The Warriors led 98-94 after Spencer buried a 3-pointer to give him 16 points, but the Sixers cut the deficit to one point with 36 seconds remaining. On a late possession with 14 seconds to go, Kerr challenged a call that a ball went off Gui Santos, and it was successful.

But after a couple unsuccessful inbound attempts, the Sixers’ Edgecome got the steal and possession of the ball with 8.2 seconds remaining.

Then Edgecombe put back Maxey’s miss to send the Warriors back to the locker room as losers.

“It’s a gut punch, a total gut punch,” Kerr said. “There’s a couple of these every year, and this one is going to sting for a little bit now.”

One of the brightest spots was Melton, who made his season debut after missing the past year with an ACL injury. He put up 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting in just 21 minutes. And Moses Moody scored 14 to lead the starting unit. Maxey poured in 35 for the Sixers.

The Warriors (11-12) will play in Cleveland on Saturday, before concluding the road trip in Chicago on Sunday. 

Kuminga and Podziemski struggle

With both of the stars out, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski were given the green light to take over the offense. As the team’s most notable young players, the two 23-year-olds had an opportunity to show that they can carry a team without Curry or Butler.

They both had their moments — Kuminga thrilled with a couple of dunks — but neither dominated. Kuminga finished minus-16, while Podziemski was minus-20. Kuminga finished with nine points and Podziemski had six. Neither played in the fourth quarter.

Athleticism issues

The Warriors have decided to hitch their proverbial wagon to a core of players in their mid-to-late 30-something year-olds, which means the team will, naturally, be less athletic than younger teams.

But even when the older stars do not play, the Warriors still play at a speed deficit. That was on full display in Philadelphia. Even though the Sixers are far from the most organized offense, that barely mattered. Maxey, Edgecombe and the rest of Philadelphia’s roster repeatedly blew past their defenders.

Horford returns

Al Horford returned to the rotation after missing the past two weeks with various injuries. His first game back saw him make his first start of the season and match up against former MVP Joel Embiid. 

He made his first shot, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, but like the rest of the team, could not get it going on offense. The 3-pointer was his lone basket in 18 minutes as he shot 1 of 8.

Butler injury update

Butler’s knee injury warranted an MRI, a test that came back negative. The Warriors star missed the game in Philadelphia after sitting out the entire second half of Tuesday’s matchup against Oklahoma City. 

He tweaked the ankle in the second quarter Tuesday while also dealing with a lower body injury sustained during a fall against New Orleans on Sunday. Butler has started 20 games this season, averaging 19.5 points and 5.0 assists per game. 

Sixers connections

The game in Philadelphia was a homecoming for just about half of the Warriors roster and a good chunk of the Golden State coaching staff. Hield and Melton were teammates in 2023-24, while Butler played for the team in 2018-19 and Horford spent a single season with the team. 

Longtime assistant coach Ron Adams coached in Philadelphia from 1994 to 1996, while Jerry Stackhouse was the No. 3 overall pick by the Sixers in 1995.