Coming off two rough losses, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Oklahoma City to take on the defending NBA Champion Thunder, who found themselves in a bit of a rut of their own following four losses in their last six games entering tonight. It turned out to be just what the doctor ordered for the Thunder, who rode a strong second half to a dominant victory and showed the visiting Sixers what a true championship contender really looks like in all phases of the game.
The Sixers recognized the importance of matching the energy and intensity of the Thunder early on. Too often, OKC beats and batters other teams into submission from the outset and coast to easy victories. Tyrese Maxey scored 15 points in the opening frame, and VJ Edgecombe contributed eight points of his own, while playing inspired defense on reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Sixers forced the Thunder into seven turnovers in the first quarter, which allowed them to overcome OKC, beginning the game shooting 9/9 from the field. Paul George found Tyrese Maxey with nice bounce passes for back-to-back buckets to round out the quarter with the Thunder leading 32-29.
The Thunder played big-brother ball for most of the first half. OKC had an immediate answer for every Sixers basket, and while the score remained close, it felt as if the dam could break open at any time. But the Sixers continued to fight and refused to break.
Paul George finally got himself going by draining a couple of contested long-range shots. Tyrese Maxey flashed it all by hitting his first bucket of the second quarter, playing good defense on the much taller Chet Holmgren, and finding a streaking Jared McCain on an outlet pass that tied the game, all in one sequence.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Maxey would trade punches for the final few minutes of the half, refusing to be outdone by one another. SGA dug into his bottomless bag of tricks to knife his way to his spots and score with ease, no matter how tight the defense. His final bucket of the first half put his Thunder up 64-62 before the teams headed for the break.
The chemistry between the Thunder’s guards and big men was a sight to behold. Holmgren and Hartenstein were the beneficiaries of countless alley-oop attempts from SGA and Jalen Williams, using their size advantage to overpower a Sixers team lacking Joel Embiid. The Thunder began to make their run early on in the third quarter, extending their lead to as many as 18 points.
The third quarter has been an issue for the Sixers all year long, and tonight was no different. They were outscored by 14 points in the quarter, and Tyrese Maxey did not score. The SGA-Jalen Williams- Chet Holmgren triumvirate combined for 64 points by the end of the third in what became a get-right performance following their back-to-back losses against the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder entered the final frame ahead by a score of 102-86.
The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Thunder continued to stretch their lead against a Sixers team that let go of the rope after realizing they had met their match. It was just highly compensated cardio after that, leading to an eventual final score of 129-104, continuing an unkind holiday season for the Sixers.
The Sixers will continue their road trip on Tuesday in Memphis, Tennessee, to take on the Grizzlies, who have rebounded from a rough start to firmly entrench themselves in the Play-In picture in the Western Conference. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
