Draymond's energy and Steph's scoring save Warriors, end losing skid

The Golden State Warriors reached their newest lowpoint of the 2016-17 season somewhere in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. Finally back home for a string of games following a tough schedule of eight contests in different cities over just 13 days, the Warriors responded by showing the same of lack of energy and physical strength that typified their incoming run of three straight losses (and five in seven games). Ostensibly playing for nothing, the Sixers were noticeably quicker and seemed to play with a greater sense of purpose.

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Faced with the shame of losing at home to a high-lottery squad, Golden State regained control rather quickly in the fourth. Down 90-78 to begin the period, the Warriors opened on a 15-2 run to take the lead on a Shaun Livingston jumper at the 7:33 mark. The Sixers bounced back and stayed close throughout, but the Warriors managed to reassert themselves in that quarter-opening run and looked far better for the remainder of the contest. Their eventual 106-104 win did not come easily and won’t answer many recent doubts about their ability to succeed without the injured Kevin Durant, but it was a relief after the worst two weeks of Steve Kerr’s three years as head coach.

Draymond Green deserves the bulk of the praise for turning things around. The versatile forward has been called the Warriors’ heart many teams over the last few seasons, and he showed why that’s the case on Tuesday. Green reignited the Warriors with his defensive energy and made plays at both ends, finishing with 20 points (11 at the free throw line, and 13 in the second half), eight rebounds, eight assists, six blocks, and four steals. He regularly challenged the Sixers at the rim and was the biggest reason why the visitors managed only 14 points in the final quarter.

Stephen Curry was a big factor on his 29th birthday, as well. Curry entered the fourth-quarter continuing his horrible shooting form at 2-of-8 from deep but went 3-of-5 in the period to finish with a team-high 29 points (5-of-13 3FG). Although he wasn’t exactly dominant, Curry played with a flair that was missing on the road. The Warriors often feed off his crowd-pleasing plays just as much as they take power from Green’s passion, and his scoring bump seemed to coincide with improved play at both ends. Perhaps this quarter is the first step back to normalcy.

While the win was a very important one for a contender in crisis, it’s important to note that the result very easily could have gone differently for Golden State. A 16-point deficit in the final minutes of the third quarter is evidence enough that the Warriors were well off their best. But it’s also true that they nearly fumbled the game away in the final minutes. A Green turnover — perhaps his only bad play late — gave the Sixers a chance to tie on the final possession down 106-103. T.J. McConnell made a bad pass that gave Matt Barnes a breakaway … which he immediately screwed up by going for a contested dunk instead of drawing a foul.

Green’s smart foul on Dario Saric arguably saved the win for the Warriors. The Rookie of the Year candidate made his first freebie to finish off a solid night with a team-high 25 points, but he had to miss the second on purpose. The Sixers did not collect the rebound, and time expired to put the Warriors a half-game ahead of the Spurs for the No. 1 seed.

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It’s important not to oversell what this win does for the Warriors. They were flat-out awful for much of the contest and perhaps only one because they were facing one of the worst teams in the NBA. There was nothing especially heroic about the win, even if Green and Curry took on a great deal of responsibility to get it done.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, teams that lose five of seven can’t really pick and choose how they win games. It’s hard to imagine, but a squad that just a few weeks ago looked headed for a third-straight NBA Finals has a lot to prove. Their first job was to show they can pull together to win a tight game. Now they have to show they can do more than stumble to a single victory without Durant. Thankfully, they get another team playing for draft position, the Orlando Magic, on Thursday.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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