A five-game winning-streak has come to an end for the Golden State Warriors, having fallen 126-119 to the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
Former Warrior Kelly Oubre Jr. went for 20 points in the 76ers' seven-point win, but it was fourth-year wing Quentin Grimes who torched the Warriors even more with a career-high 44 points in an extraordinary individual performance.
The Warriors have been unable to secure the West's sixth-seed
Golden State had an opportunity to surpass the L.A. Clippers and take hold of the sixth-seed in the Western Conference standings, but failed to capitalize against a team that had entered on a nine-game losing streak.
Having gone -14 in Stephen Curry's minutes on the bench in the first-half, the Warriors were playing uphill for most of the last three quarters. They battled back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game on multiple occasions, yet never led again after being up 37-36 early in the second-quarter.
Joel Embiid was already a confirmed out for Philadelphia, but it was Jimmy Butler's late scratching that also proved pivotal as Curry was forced to shoulder much of the offensive load. The 2x MVP backed up his 56-point performance against the Orlando Magic on Thursday with 29 points, five rebounds and 13 assists, having shot 10-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc.
The last time Stephen Curry dunked in a game was SIX YEARS AGO 😱 https://t.co/Ydhswm2Odp pic.twitter.com/9HADNP60TW
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 2, 2025
Yet the absence of their newly-acquired second star was brutally felt by the Warriors, with no other player scoring more than the 16 delivered by Quinten Post who had four threes and added nine rebounds.
It was Grimes' night though as the 24-year-old buried a series of triples and repeatedly got to the rim, eventually finishing 18-of-24 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. He, Oubre and Guerschon Yabusele combined for 82 points on 14-of-22 3-point shooting, making up for relatively quiet nights from star duo Paul George and especially Tyrese Maxey who finished with five points on 2-of-14 shooting.
While Butler's absence was felt on the offensive end, the inability to stop Grimes or the 76er offense may have been what ultimately cost Golden State the game. Philadelphia shot 52.9% from the floor and an incredible 57.6% from beyond the arc, while also getting to the free-throw line on nine more occasions.
Seven Warrior players got to double-figures thanks to Curry's playmaking, yet the visitors shot just 46% from the floor and 28.6% from 3-point range. They'll look to get back to winning ways when they visit the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on Monday.