BOX SCORE
OAKLAND, Calif.This Sixers team has been resilient since Doug Collins came on the scene. They are a "team" in every sense of the wordthey support one another, they are happy for a person enjoying success and they have one anothers back.
So its New Years Eve and they are 3,000 miles away from their families as they had been since Christmas morning, and Golden State comes out with rested legs putting the visitors in a 20-7 hole out of the gate.
It could have been a long night from that point on. Instead, Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young had a conversation.
I think once the game starts we look and see how it is going and we make adjustments from there, Lou Williams, who led all scorers with 23 points, said of the Sixers' bench. Like tonight; Thad looked at me like lets bring the energy. Some games we say we have to lead and try and push it to 15 or 20 (point lead). The mindset changes game in and game out and tonight was one of those games where we felt we had to go get the lead.
In Saturday night's 107-79 rout of Golden State (see game breakdown), the Sixers trailed by six after one quarter but because they held the Warriors to 32 percent shooting in the second quarter, they led by eight at halftime.
It was the start of the third quarter that was a work of art. At the 8:25 mark, that eight-point halftime lead had grown to 20. The Sixers' defense did not let up, they held Golden State to 12 third-quarter points.
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If this teams previous identity of being a defensive juggernaut was in question following Friday night where they allowed two 31-point quarters to the Jazz, faith was restored.
We came together defensively tonight, said Elton Brand, who collected five of the Sixers' 12 steals. And how about the way we shared the ball? Thats the way we were last year, playing defense and sharing the ball. I know they didnt have a high octane scorer in Monta Ellis but this is a victory we had to have.
The Warriors leading scorer, Ellis, left the team Friday so he could attend his grandmothers funeral in Mississippi. With Ellis gone, rookie Klay Thompson earned his first start of his NBA career.
Golden State also welcomed Stephen Curry back to their lineup after a one-game hiatus because of a sprained right ankle. Curry had a team high 21 points.
I thought our guys were the team we were last year, Collins said. And that was a great gift they gave me. There are certain moments you dont ever forget as a coach and today will be one of those days. I told them what might look like the fourth game of the season to them was much more meaningful to me. I thought we got our team back today. We had 29 assists and just 12 turnovers.
Spencer Hawes notched his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He is the third-leading rebounder in the NBA right now. He is also shooting 67.6 percent from the field.
In four games, the Sixers' bench has totaled 177 points. They outscored the Golden State reserves 58-30.
The Sixers will enjoy a day off on Jan. 1 and practice twice in Philadelphia before going to New Orleans for a Wednesday date against the Hornets, looking to go above .500 on the road to start the season.
That would be quite a feat considering they lost 10 of their first 11 on the road a year ago.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.