The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-97. They trailed by as much as 31 points. Russell Westbrook had a triple double by the 3rd quarter. The Sixers were doubled in rebounding as the Thunder dominated the offensive boards. Just a brutal night.
The Sixers seemed to be in trouble from the first quarter. They ended it down by 7, but the Thunder were on a run to end the quarter.
For those of you that have kept an eye on it, Russell Westbrook got his triple double with just over 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists. The Sixers really didn’t do well in this game. Nik Staukas did shoot very well in the first half. He was 5 for 5 from beyond at one point. He single handedly kept the Sixers in the game. Other than that, the team didn’t do a lot of scoring. The team shot 42.5 percent on the floor. Just…no.
Richaun Holmes missed a wide open dunk in the 3rd quarter. That’s essentially how this game went. He was wide open. Like, nobody could stretch their arm and reach him. He may have airballed the dunk. He then missed an alley-oop layup attempt…while being alone. He really did represent the Sixers tonight.
The Sixers had a nightmare game in a place they have never won before. That’s right, the Sixers have not won on a visit to the Thunder. That’s…unfortunate.
The Thunder’s big men Steven Adams and Enes Kanter had their way with the Sixers. It was brutal to watch. The big men got offensive rebounds (9 combined) and put backs. Those 9 rebounds between the two of them was more than the Sixers' offensive rebounds, which was 6. Adams’ five rebounds were all offensive. Like, that was his primary rebounding numbers tonight. If not getting those boards, they easily made baskets whenever the Sixers paid attention to a driving Westbrook and he kicks it to the waiting man.
Kanter destroyed the Sixers with his scoring. In 16 minutes, and by the end of the 3rd quarter, he had 21 points on 87.5 percent from the floor and 100 percent (7 for 7) from the free throw line. Shucks, Westbrook had a perfect shooting night. He was 6 for 6 from the floor and 6 for 6 from the line by the end of the 3rd quarter.
The Sixers were outrebounded in a horrible way. At one point, the Sixers had 16 rebounds in the 4th quarter. The Thunder had 15 offensive rebounds alone. Just…….what? Overall, the Thunder won this battle in the end 54-25.
What a nightmare. The recap here almost didn't make it as the writer had to grasp what was displayed out there on the court. Here's hoping the Sixers get back on track (unless you're all about that TANK).
