3 observations after severely undermanned Sixers fall to Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers couldn’t overcome a huge difference in player availability on Tuesday night against the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
They lost 118-102 at Wells Fargo Center, falling to 15-23 with their third straight defeat. Oklahoma City improved to 33-6.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and nine assists.
For the Sixers, rookie Justin Edwards scored 25 points. Jeff Dowtin Jr. set a career-high with 18 points, and Guerschon Yabusele added 17.
The Sixers will face the Knicks on Wednesday. For their first game in this back-to-back, they were missing several key players. The following players missed the game against OKC:
- Tyrese Maxey (left hand sprain)
- Joel Embiid (left foot sprain)
- Paul George (right ankle soreness)
- Caleb Martin (right groin soreness)
- KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction)
- Andre Drummond (left toe sprain)
- Kyle Lowry (right hip sprain)
- Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Embiid is “day-to-day.”
Drummond is also day-to-day. He and KJ Martin have recently resumed on-court workouts, according to a team official.
Here are some key takeaways from the Sixers’ undermanned loss on Tuesday:
An early OKC blitz
Ricky Council IV made his first career start, and Reggie Jackson also started his first game as a Sixer.
Council scored on an and-one layup to bring the Thunder’s lead to 10-9. But after that, the Sixers’ deficit grew quickly, and the talent gap between the teams was clear.
The Sixers allowed a 22-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to easily get wherever he wanted. He scored a layup along the baseline, cut through the defense for an easy basket, and ended the first quarter with 14 points and three assists. He started 10 for 10 from the floor and didn’t miss a shot until the 8:01 mark of the third quarter.
On the other side, the Sixers saw why OKC has the best defensive rating in the NBA by a wide margin. The Sixers had trouble creating space on their drives. Even when they got into the paint, they struggled to get good shots against the Thunder’s long, athletic, and anticipatory defense.
Two-ways and rookies off the bench
The Sixers had only four bench players available on Tuesday, and they used all of them.
The second unit consisted of the team’s two-way players—Dowtin, Edwards, and Pete Nance—and rookie center Adem Bona. Nance got his first chance to play, moving between power forward and center, and finished 18 scoreless minutes.
Edwards was more aggressive on offense than usual and made an immediate impact, scoring nine points on 4-for-5 shooting in his first eight minutes. The Sixers cut OKC’s lead to nine points in the second quarter after an Eric Gordon three-pointer, and they had some defensive success. Of course, it’s easier to defend OKC when Gilgeous-Alexander is on the bench.
Oubre was the Sixers’ main defender on Gilgeous-Alexander and also handled the ball at times. He struggled offensively in the first half, missing all seven of his shots.
On the last possession of the second quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander stole an Edwards pass intended for the baseline and turned the Sixers’ 13th turnover into a dunk just before halftime. This gave OKC a 58-43 lead going into the break.
Nothing stunning in the cards
Nurse called a timeout just 95 seconds into the second half after a Gilgeous-Alexander layup. He subbed out Gordon and put Edwards in.
Dowtin and Edwards kept the game from slipping further away in the third quarter. Dowtin has shown he can score in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats. Edwards exceeded 17 points only once during his one college season at Kentucky, but he made the most of his opportunity against OKC.
Yabusele came alive in the final part of the third quarter, scoring nine points in the last minute and four seconds. He capped the period with a buzzer-beating put-back layup.
The Sixers kept their comeback attempt going early in the fourth. Long-range shots from Edwards and Gordon cut OKC’s lead to 91-87.
Despite this, the Sixers’ chances of catching up to the Thunder were slim.
Even with Edwards and Dowtin scoring, and OKC showing some lapses in focus, the Sixers didn’t have enough defense to slow down the Thunder. As often happens when Embiid is missing, the Sixers lacked rim protection and couldn’t pull off an upset against a healthier, stronger team.
