Harrison Barnes and the Golden State Warriors have beaten the league’s best teams to a pulp this year, erupting for 30-point wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls most recently. However, against some of the more anemic teams, they’ve struggled. Such was the case when they nearly lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in a matinee.
Up 73-54 at the end of the first half, and with 26 dimes the Warriors seemed to be in cruise control, but the Sixers spawned a second-half comeback that caught the Warriors off guard. They played the Warriors even in the third quarter but shut down the vaunted offense. In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia went off, outscoring the champs 33-17.
Down 103-90, the Sixers keyed a 15-2 run over the last 3:26, mostly on the strength of Ish Smith and Isaiah Canaan, which included a 4-point play by Canaan with 36 seconds left, and then a breakaway steal and finish from Smith.
Then Harrison Barnes did this:
This is how Harrison Barnes broke the hearts of 76ers fans. https://t.co/P4F1RxuDMD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 31, 2016
It was a dramatic finish, which is more than 76ers fans could have expected.
Weirdly, Golden State is just 7-2 (with two overtime wins) with an average margin of victory of just 5.2 against the Nets, Nuggets, Bucks and 76ers combined. They are 36-2 against the rest of the league.