RECAP: Oklahoma City Thunder 122, Philadelphia 76ers 112
By Bret Stuter
The Philadelphia 76ers rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder may not have been as long as the season debut between these two teams, but it was every bit as exciting
The Philadelphia 76ers were on a roll in the month of January 2018. They began the month at 17-19, but enter tonight’s contest at 24-21, and in the midst of an 8-2 winning streak. The Oklahoma City Thunder were nearly as hot, entering tonight’s contest at 29-20, and in the midst of their own 7-3 winning streak. The first contest between these two teams ended up in triple overtime, only to end up with a loss to the Thunder 119 -117. Now the rematch came on January 28, 2018.
The game’s importance definitely leaned towards the Sixers. Despite the winning streak, the Philadelphia 76ers are only as good as tied for seventh place in the NBA Eastern Conference. But this team is just three games behind the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers. Win, and the 76ers could move up in the NBA rankings. In the end, they lost a hard fought game.
Opening
The game starters were Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Dario Saric, and Robert Covington. Simmons drew the defense of Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook. Surprisingly, it was Paul George who opened the game with seven of the first nine Thunder points. Countering George was the two for two three point shooting of TLC.
The game was close at the opening, punctuated by an enormous dunk of Joel Embiid over Russell Westbrook. But the 76ers rotated in players off the bench, and Russell Westbrook took advantage of the size difference against T.J. McConnell. By the end of the first quarter, it was quite clear that the Oklahoma City Thunder took every opportunity to go hard at Joel Embiid.
Don’t mess with Embiid
But the worst thing any team can do is target Joel Embiid. The entire team rallied behind him, and got up by two at halftime, led by Embiid’s 17. The second half opened to two three-pointers from Dario Saric. And for a short period, the Philadelphia 76ers led by as much as six.
But the lead would not last, as Saric was tagged with his fifth foul in Q3. That forced the 76ers into their rotations prematurely. From that point, the Thunder went on a 15-0 run as Robert Covington had two consecutive bad play turnovers leading to Thunder points. By the end of Q3, the Thunder lead stood at nine points.
All in at Q4
But just as the Thunder offense took over, so too did Philadelphia in the fourth quarter. A Convington trey, a Simmons hook shot, a pair of Covington fouls shots, and an Embiid trey cut the Thunder lead to one. After a Ben Simmons steal and an easy layup, the teams tied it up at 101-101. Anthony sank a three and Steve Adams scored four. But then the inexperience of TLC and the experience of Russell Westbrook kicked in. Westbrook shot 33 times in the game and scored on 42.4 percent. But the real weapon was Paul George, whose 52.9 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from the perimeter was simply too much for the injured 76ers roster to overcome.
A+. 35 mins | 27 pts | 10 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 4 TO | 9-15 FG | 3-4 3PT| 4-5 FT | 4 PF | +8 | <strong>Summary</strong>: Joel Embiid was the focus of what appeared to be the entire Oklahoma City roster. He responded with 27 points and 10 rebounds. In fact, he even shot three of four from the perimeter. Still, the Oklahoma City Thunder kept coming at Embiid with wave after wave of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steve Adams, and <a rel=. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
A-. 39 mins | 22 pts | 4 reb | 7 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 10-14 FG | 0-0 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | -10 | <strong>Summary</strong>: Ben Simmons did an admirable job holding Russell Westbrook in check. Despite Westbrooks 37 points, he was 1-6 from three-point range and shot 14-33 from the floor. Simmons, on the other hand, shot 10-14 from the floor. For every Russell Westbrook grandstand play, Simmons answered back, again and again. Much like Embiid, the Thunder simply had a deeper team tonight.. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
49 mins | 11 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 3-11 FG | 3-9 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | +5 | <strong>Summary</strong>: Covington’s streaky shooting continued tonight, as he struggled to get his offense going. He did hit on a trio of threes, but that capped his scoring. He took a beating tonight. One pick play by Thunder’s Steve Adams sent him flying. But on another drive to the basket, he was shoved to the floor where his head hid the camera of a sideline photographer. Without Redick, the 76ers needed a huge offensive performance from both Covington in this one. That offense didn’t show up. But Paul George’s offense, his defensive responsibility. did in a big way.. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. ROBERT COVINGTON. C-
B+. 21 mins | 16 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 5-8 FG | 3-5 3PT| 0-0 FT | 5 PF | -2 | <strong>Summary</strong>: Dario Saric was a player of two halves. In the first half, he was a defensive liability, no offense, and tagged with three personal fouls quickly. But in the second half, he opened with a pair of three-point shots and two-pointer. He was one of the players who kept the 76ers in the game. His early foul trouble limited his impact on a night where he as desperately needed.<br />. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. DARIO SARIC
C-. 33 mins | 6 pts | 3 reb |5 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 2-10 FG |2-6 3PT| 0-0 FT | 5 PF | +2 |<strong> Summary</strong>: Despite a string of solid performance, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot faced an intense opponent in the game and disappeared. He opened the game with two solid three point shots, and then crumpled offensively. He did set up teammates with some well-timed alley oops, but his inexperience was a clear liability, particularly in the second half. The team needed offense from both TLC and Covington. Neither made much of an impact.. G/F. Philadelphia 76ers. TIMOTHE LUWAWU-CABARROT
A good loss?
The Philadelphia 76ers faced one of the best NBA teams in the league, and playing their A game. But they did not wilt. In fact, they held together, rallying to the aide of Joel Embiid. But late in the game, it was the deeper Thunder roster and their better experience which made the difference. Is there such a thing as a good loss? If there is, this game was it.
Next: Oklahoma City Thunder going hard at Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers played hard, and can learn a great deal after this one. This was a game against a playoff team, in their house, with a shallow roster and facing a determined opponent. The team grew up a little in this game, rallying back from a deficit to keep it close.