3 observations after Curry-led Warriors drop 139 points to Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers never led or even remotely threatened until Thursday against the Warriors.

Golden State dominated the evening, earning a 139-105 victory at Chase Center.

Stephen Curry was brilliant, scoring 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in his 30 minutes.

Joel Embiid led the 13-19 Sixers with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Paul George added 19 points.

The Sixers were missing Kelly Oubre Jr. (left hand sprain), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) and KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction). The 17-16 Warriors had two players out with injuries, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II.

Next up for the Sixers is the finale of a six-game road trip against the Nets on Saturday. Here are observations from their stunning loss to the Warriors:

Picking up where they left off in Sacramento

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was all but forced to call an early timeout due to his team’s very slow start.

Whatever the Sixers’ plans were to make Golden State’s offense uncomfortable, they didn’t come to fruition at all. Dennis Schröder hit three three-pointers in the first quarter and Moses Moody’s triple on the opening play of the second quarter put the Sixers in a 38-19 hole.

The Sixers’ performance was the antithesis of a comeback from their Wednesday collapse against the Kings late in the fourth quarter. From the end of the game until Moody’s victory, the Sixers were outscored 53-19 by their opponents.

In addition to the turnover issues the Sixers inherited from Sacramento, they didn’t take many of the good shots they had. The team started 0 for 7 from three-point range and had no chance from distance in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Warriors shot and played like the relatively rested team on a homestand.

George’s trend of foul trouble also continued. He got two in the first seven minutes and made substitutions. Since a Christmas Eve in Boston where there was no foul, four straight games have been affected by early fouls.

Yabusele is always ready to come off the bench

All the negatives aside, Guerschon Yabusele’s appearance off the bench in the first quarter was a positive.

He scored two goals on sharp cuts and led the Sixers on 3-for-3 shooting with eight points in the first period. Yabusele has excelled this season at making an immediate impact when he checks in, regularly appearing more energetic and rhythmic than players already in the game.

For the second straight year, Nurse opted to use a two-way contract player in his rotation. After a play by Justin Edwards in Sacramento, Jeff Dowtin Jr. played six scoreless minutes in the first half. Reggie Jackson, Eric Gordon and Ricky Council IV were the other members of the Sixers’ second unit.

The Sixers and Warriors exchanged many baskets early in the second quarter while Embiid sat. Draymond Green charged down the court and managed to navigate through the Sixers and score an easy layup in a particularly low defensive sequence.

The bar wasn’t high, but the Sixers looked a little better on both ends when Embiid returned. He did his usual damage, outscoring everyone in front of him and drawing tons of fouls (11 for 14 at the free throw line).

A big nonsense that ends one after the other

The Warriors led by 16 points at halftime and extended their lead to more than 20 early in the third quarter.

Curry fired off jumpers like the best shooter of all-time on Thursday, going an incredible 8-for-8 from three-point territory. Golden State scored 22 of 39 points overall.

It’s always appropriate to tip your hat when facing a Curry-centric team. However, the Sixers’ defensive activity and focus never seemed nearly enough to overcome such a large deficit. They were lax when it came to stopping the ball, following the cutters and turning to the shooters. The Warriors scored 13 more points than any Sixers opponent in a game so far this season.

Such thoroughly poor performances happen over a long season. The situation was challenging for players like Tyrese Maxey, who played 42 minutes the night before and went 4-for-13 from the field on Thursday. Caleb Martin’s high minute load of late – 37.6 per game in his last four appearances – was also evident against the Warriors. He had two points on 1-for-5 shooting.

Regardless, the Sixers were undeniably significantly below average in terms of the factors they controlled. With the Sixers trailing by 30 points in the fourth quarter with just over nine minutes remaining, Nurse turned to his players on the deep bench.