Sports Writing (USA), Mar 24 (EFE).- Jordan Poole scored 19 of his 33 points this Friday in an extraordinary fourth period to lead the Golden State Warriors over the Philadelphia 76ers (120-112) despite to the great night of Joel Embiid, who finished with 46 points.
The Warriors tossed on NBA champion stripes at the Chase Center and sealed their third straight victory, the 30th of 37 games played this year in San Francisco.
Poole shone with 33 points and six 3-pointers coming off the bench, while Steph Curry had 29 points and Klay Thompson had 21, with six 3-pointers.
The great reaction in the fourth quarter, which they ended up losing by eleven points, and a tremendous commitment in the fight for rebounds, won 53-45, knocked the 76ers down despite a stellar Embiid, who sealed 46 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.
Doc Rivers’ team, third in the East, fell after beating the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
The Warriors (39-36) placed sixth, in positions that give direct access to the ‘playoffs’, with a two-game margin over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Embiid, who only played 12 minutes in Chicago on Wednesday as his team cruised to their comfortable victory with a devastating 17-0 start, stepped on the accelerator again from the beginning and scored 19 points in a great first half, thirteen of them in the first period.
His great start, and the brilliance of Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey, allowed the 76ers to maintain their balance against some confident Warriors, who had a two-point margin at halftime thanks to Steph Curry’s fourteen points and Steph Curry’s ten. a great JaMychael Green coming off the bench.
It was in the third period when the 76ers managed to take their maximum advantage, at the pace of their leader Embiid, who pushed the Warriors’ defense to the limit and went to the free throw line 17 times.
Doc Rivers’ team reached its maximum advantage at 88-79 with which it entered the fourth period, against some Warriors who got stuck and chained long series of shooting errors.
But a 12-3 run in three and a half minutes from the Warriors, led by a great Poole, reopened the game at the Chase Center.
Embiid followed with extraordinary plays, also from midrange, to hold up the 76ers, but Poole, Kevon Looney and Thompson didn’t throw in the towel and tied the game 104-104 on a 3-pointer by Klay.
The Warriors gained confidence and there was no way to stop their final momentum. Poole signed 19 points in the last segment and Curry was in charge of completing the comeback to hit the table in the West and relaunch their ambitions to be protagonists until the end.
The 76ers stay in the West and will now face the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets, before returning to Philadelphia to host the Mavericks in crisis.
A series of high-demand clashes awaits them next with the Toronto Raptors, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, who would be their rivals in the first round of the ‘playoffs’ if they maintain these positions in the table.
The Warriors will host the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs at the Chase Center.
andrea montolivo
