Golden State Warriors overcome the Philadelphia 76ers despite Joel Embiid struggles

 

The Golden State Warriors won successive NBA road games for the first time since November against a Philadelphia 76ers side struggling without Joel Embiid.

The Warriors’ 127-104 victory was the 76ers’ seventh defeat in eight matches.

Cameroon’s Embiid, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, missed his fourth straight game and is out for at least another four weeks after knee surgery.

Andrew Wiggins top scored for Golden State with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Klay Thompson and Jonathan Kuminga each added 18 points for the Warriors who secured their fourth win in five games – including a 109-98 victory at the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry managed just nine points in 25 minutes of action as Wiggins praised the collective effort of his team-mates.

“It’s coming together. Tonight was a mindset of being aggressive,” Wiggins said.

“It’s a team effort. We’re all a factor offensively and defensively, getting into it [and] stuck to the gameplan.”

Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks 125-117, the Toronto Raptors clinched a 123-117 win over the Charlotte Hornets while the Cleveland Cavaliers triumphed 114-106 against the Washington Wizards.

The Miami Heat ran out 116-104 winners over the San Antonio Spurs, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the LA Clippers 117-106 and the Detroit Pistons cruised to a 133-120 success over the Sacramento Kings.

READ MORE:

Report: 76ers Made Exploratory Trade Calls On Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic

According to NBA insider Kyle Neubeck of PHLY, the Philadelphia 76ers made exploratory trade calls on Atlanta Hawks forward Bogdan Bogdanovic.

However, Bogdanovic is not expected to be traded by the Hawks at the NBA trade deadline.

“The Sixers made exploratory calls on Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, per a league source, but the Hawks are said to be asking for a heavy premium to even consider moving him, with Bogdanovic locked in on a team-friendly deal through 2025-26 (with a club option for 2026-27),” Neubeck wrote.

Bogdanovic is averaging 17.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.2 blocks this season while shooting 43.3% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 90.7% from the free-throw line. He’s making $18.7 million.

The Hawks signed Bogdanovic to a four-year, $68 million extension last season. The veteran forward will make $17.3 million next season.

Bogdanovic has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.2 blocks with the Sacramento Kings and Hawks. He signed with Atlanta in 2020 as a restricted NBA free agent.

According to NBA insider Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Hawks don’t want to trade Bogdanovic. Even though Atlanta aims to trim future salaries, the front office wants to keep Bogdanovic, who is sixth in the NBA this season in 3-point field goals (151).

“Despite the goal of trimming future salary, one player with a sizable contract going forward the Hawks seemingly want to keep past the trade deadline is Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to rival executives and league sources who’ve spoken with HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.