Stephen Curry is averaging a league-high 39.9 ppg in April, while averaging 6.9 3-pointers made on 14 attempts per game.
Warriors (28-29) at Sixers (39-17)
• The Sixers enter Monday riding a four-game win streak with Joel Embiid averaging 34.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during this stretch. Embiid has 12 games this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds – second most in the league behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (14 such games).
• Stephen Curry has scored at least 30 points in 10 straight games and has made at least 10 3-pointers in three of his last four games. Curry has as many games with 10 or more 3-pointers made this season (five) as the rest of the NBA combined. Over his past five games, Curry has made 44 3-pointers (more than any player in a five-game stretch ever) and has shot 54.5% from beyond the arc.
• Philadelphia won the first meeting with Golden State this season, 108-98 on March 23, with both teams missing All-Stars — Embiid for the Sixers and Curry for the Warriors. Philadelphia outscored the Warriors 28-13 in the fourth quarter to secure the win, with Tobias Harris leading the way with 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Sixers have outscored their opponents by 94 points in the fourth quarter this season — the third-highest mark in the league behind Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Embiid (88) and Curry (87) rank 11th and 12, respectively, in clutch scoring this season as both players have played 20 games. While their scoring is similar, the end result of their clutch games has not been — the Sixers have gone 17-3 in clutch games with Embiid on the court, while the Warriors are just 10-10 in Curry’s clutch games.
• Draymond Green is one of four players — along with James Harden, Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook — to lead their team in rebounds (6.6 rpg), assists (8.6 apg; 7th in NBA) and steals (1.6 spg; 6th in NBA). While Jokic (26.1 ppg) leads the Nuggets in scoring, Westbrook (21.9 ppg) ranks second on the Wizards and Harden (25.4 ppg) ranks third on the Nets, Green (6.6 ppg) ranks seventh on the Warriors in points.
Andre Drummond finished with 27 points and eight rebounds in L.A. overtime win over Utah on Saturday.
Jazz (42-15) at Lakers (35-22)
• This is the second meeting in three days for the Lakers and Jazz, as L.A. defeated Utah 127-115 in overtime on Saturday. The Lakers got 27 points and eight rebounds from Andre Drummond as the Lakers took advantage of Rudy Gobert’s absence by scoring 64 points in the paint. It was the fifth-most points in the paint allowed by the Jazz this season.
• After Saturday’s game, the Jazz are now 0-3 in overtime games, while the Lakers improved to 4-1. Only the Cavaliers (3-0) and Pacers (5-1) have a better overtime record than the Lakers, among the 19 teams that have played at least three overtime games.
• Jordan Clarkson started his first game of the season and scored a game-high 27 points on Saturday, but shot just 11-27 from the field, 5-15 from 3-point range and did not attempt a free throw. Dennis Schroder was the primary defender on Clarkson for a team-high 6:29 (37.7% of Clarkson’s offensive matchup time) and held Clarkson for five points on 2-6 shooting from the field and just one assist.
• The Lakers (105.8) and Jazz (107.8) rank first and fourth, respectively, in defensive rating so far this season. The Jazz lead the NBA in defensive field goal percentage, holding opponents to an effective field goal percentage just 50.5%. The Lakers rank third on that list at 52.0% allowed.
• The Jazz lead the NBA with 22.6 shot attempts each game that are wide open – with the closest defender more than six feet away from the shooter. They have an effective field goal percentage on 62.8% on these open looks, which ranks second behind the LA Clippers (66.0%). The Lakers rank 16th in wide-open attempts (18.7 per game) and 21st in wide-open eFG% (55.2%).
