When the Philadelphia 76ers take on the resurgent Golden State Warriors on Friday night in San Francisco, they hope to have James Harden and Joel Embiid back in the lineup.
Despite Harden missing the game with a sore left Achilles and giving Embiid the second half off because of tightness in his right calf, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Chicago Bulls, who were their opponents, 116-91 on Wednesday night.
After the 76ers had built a 28-point halftime lead, Embiid was benched. As a result, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers spent more time explaining Harden’s future status than his star center’s availability for Friday’s second game of a four-game trip.
On Dec. 16, the 76ers defeated a Warriors team that was shorthanded 118-106 at home. Harden scored 27 points and Embiid scored a game-high 34. Stephen Curry (left shoulder dislocation), Draymond Green (bruised right quad), and Andrew Wiggins (strained right adductor) were all out that night for Golden State.
Golden State still does not have Wiggins because of personal issues, but it was able to win on the road in consecutive games for the second time this season when it beat the Dallas Mavericks 127-125 and the Houston Rockets 121-108 on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, to end a two-game road trip.
In an effort to move up from sixth place in the Western playoff standings, the Warriors (38-36) now have four games in a row at home.
Particularly significant was the victory over the Mavericks, who protested the game due to a miscommunication with the officials in the third quarter. With just eight games remaining, the Warriors would have fallen below Dallas and into a Western play-in spot if they had lost.
In the two victories this week, reserve Jonathan Kuminga helped Golden State. The second-year player scored 17 points at Houston and 22 points at Dallas, making 16 of his 20 shots, taking advantage of playing time that Wiggins might not have had.
The Warriors haven’t said when Wiggins might be back, but a statement on Thursday said that Gary Payton II, who hasn’t played since being acquired from Portland a month ago because of problems with his core muscles, can practice on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
The 76ers (49-23), who enter the final ten games of their season tied for the most losses with the Boston Celtics (50-23) as they compete for the No. 1 seed, are just like the Warriors in that every game matters. 2 planting seeds in the east.
Philadelphia will likewise confront the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets to finish its basic four-game excursion prior to traveling east for a home-weighty stretch where the 76ers will have the Celtics on April 4.
