The Golden State Warriors went back on the road for the first time in nearly two weeks, heading east to start a three-game trip against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday evening.

Steph Curry was already ruled out for the entire road trip, and Jimmy Butler was also announced as missing the Sixers game due to a knee issue he suffered on Tuesday. Without their two stars, it would take a Herculean effort for the Warriors to take down the 76ers.

The most roller-coaster game in recent memory ensued, and in an eerily similar match to Tuesday's bout against the Oklahoma City Thunder, though the Warriors came back to take a lead in the fourth quarter, mistakes at the end eventually handed them the loss, 99-98.

Warriors Play Worst First Quarter In Steve Kerr Era

The first 12 minutes of play had no indication that it would end up in a 1-point game, though. In fact, the Warriors played so poorly in the first quarter that it felt more likely the game would end in a 50-point blowout than a 1-point heartbreaker.

The Dubs scored just 10 points in the entire first quarter, the fewest they've ever scored since Steve Kerr became the head coach in 2014, and reportedly since the beginning of the modern era. It's also the least amount of points that any team in the NBA has scored in any quarter this season.

They shot an abysmal 4-25 from the field and 2-16 from three, led by Brandin Podziemski's 5 misses from beyond the arc and Jonathan Kuminga's 1-5 shooting.

The second quarter was just marginally better, as the Warriors actually looked like an NBA team on the court, but they still went into the half trailing 56-34.

 It would take nothing short of a miracle for the Dubs to turn it around in the second half, especially with Draymond Green exiting the game with an ankle/foot injury he suffered in the second quarter. 

Unbelievable Comeback Falls Just Short

Whatever Steve Kerr told his players in the locker room at halftime was revolutionary, apparently.

The Warriors won the third quarter 32-24 and were on the outside looking in on a second potential comeback in the past three days. As the fourth quarter got underway, one of the heroes from Tuesday's game against the Thunder donned his cape again: Pat Spencer.

The undrafted former lacrosse player led a furious Warriors run, spearheading a 13-0 stretch to cut the lead to just 3 points, 84-81. The Warriors' closing lineup of Spencer, Quinten Post, Buddy Hield, Gui Santos, and a mix of Will Richard and De'Anthony Melton — who was superb in his first game in over a year — snatched the lead at 93-92.

With just 1:12 remaining, Spencer hit a contested three to give the Warriors a 4-point lead — a simply unthinkable margin considering the first quarter.

But alas, it seems like the Warriors can always find a creative way to lose. Despite having a one-point lead and the ball with 10 seconds left, they just couldn't get a clean inbounds pass to seal the deal. The 76ers stole it, and after a timeout, VJ Edgecombe put back a Tyrese Maxey miss to reclaim the lead.

Melton's last-second layup attempt was sent into the front row by Maxey, and the Warriors' improbable comeback came up just short.

An extremely up-and-down game turned into another loss in the record, as the Warriors fell below .500 for the first time this season. Many takeaways arose from this game, though, especially in terms of potential changes Steve Kerr may have to make to his rotation moving forward.

The Warriors will play next on Saturday afternoon against the Cleveland Cavaliers.