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Warriors Win, Beat Down 76ers Behind Thompson’s 40 And Improve to 66-7

By William Gomez
Published on: 15:45 PST, Mar 27, 2016

The Warriors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers without much struggle behind shooting guard Klay Thompson’s 40 points, but even more importantly, the win puts them that much closer to the season-long pursuit of ousting the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72-10 for the best regular season record in NBA history.

Sunday night’s performance makes it the second consecutive game that Thompson has scored 40 points (the first time in his career) and also saw the resourceful Draymond Green post a franchise-best 12th triple-double in the 117-105 win over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.

Aside from climbing to 66-7, the win also gives the Warriors a record 53rd straight regular-season win at home, which will serve as an intimidating factor for opponents going into next month’s playoffs, which the Warrior’s will likely have home court throughout.

Thompson shot 15 of 27 from the field against a 76ers team that has only won nine games all season and was led by veteran forward Carl Landry who dropped 22 points and grabbed eight boards for a Sixers team that has now lost their ninth game in a row and its 22nd in 23 previous match ups.

Point guard Ish Smith, who has been a nice addition for the Sixers in another season filled with uncertainty and doubt, contributed 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting along with 10 assists.

The Sixers were coming into the game hoping to re-enact the performance they put forward against the Warriors their previous meeting on Jan. 30; the Sixers rallied back from 24 down in that game, and the Warriors needed a Harrison Barnes game winner with.2 seconds left in regulation to pull out the win.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr recently challenged his historic Warriors team to clean up their offensive game by committing fewer turnovers and has also stressed on the import of playing more passionately on the defensive side of the ball.

“We have been paying close attention to our defensive numbers the last 10 games,” Kerr said. “What we are really trying to reinforce with our players is the idea that come playoff time that we better be sharp and we have to start building those habits now in order to be sharp in the postseason.”

But despite their coaches wishes, the Warriors still committed six more turnovers (18) than the Sixers in this game and still allowed one of the worst, if not worst, teams in the NBA to shoot over 40 percent from the field.

Reigning MVP Steph Curry had a quiet night, starting 1-6 from the field and missing his first four three-point shots. He finished the night on 7-16 shooting (2-9 from long-range) for 20 points along with 8 assists.

The Warriors at 66-7 now join the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win 66 games in back-to-back seasons. With only 9 games left, Golden State is on its final stretch in overtaking the same Bulls team for the best NBA regular-season record in league history (72-10).

The 76ers will go on to host the New Orleans Pelicans — who have team wisely shut down their star forward Anthony Davis for the remainder of the season due to a nagging shoulder injury — Tuesday night.

The Warriors look to keep their home winning streak and chances of topping the 1995-96 Bulls record alive this Tuesday night against John Wall and the Washington Wizards.

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

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Basketball NBA Chicago Bulls Philadelphia 76ers Golden State Warriors
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