The severely shorthanded Sixers fell to a 118-102 loss Tuesday night to the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
3 observations after severely undermanned Sixers fall to Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers could not overcome a gigantic difference in manpower Tuesday night against the Western Conference-leading Thunder
They fell to a 118-102 loss at Wells Fargo Center, dropping to 15-23 with their third consecutive defeat. Oklahoma City improved to 33-6.
Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexader posted 32 points and nine assists.
Sixers rookie Justin Edwards scored 25 points. Jeff Dowtin Jr. had a career-high 18 points and Guerschon Yabusele recorded 17.
The Sixers will host the Knicks on Wednesday. For the opening game of their back-to-back, they were severely shorthanded. The following players all missed the OKC game:
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 again said pregame 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 observations on the Sixers’ extremely undermanned loss Tuesday:
An early OKC blitz
Ricky Council IV made his first career start and Reggie Jackson started for the first time as a Sixer.
Council converted an and-one layup to cut the Thunder’s lead to 10-9. From there, the Sixers’ deficit ballooned and the talent disparity between the teams was glaring.
The Sixers allowed a 22-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to glide wherever he wanted to go. He cut free along the baseline for a layup, sliced through the Sixers’ defense for an easy hoop inside and finished the first quarter with 14 points and three assists. He began 10 for 10 from the floor and didn’t miss a field goal until the 8:01 mark of the third quarter.
On the other end, the Sixers saw why OKC has the NBA’s best defensive rating by a wide margin. The Sixers rarely created separation on their drives. When they did get in and around the paint, they struggled to squeeze off shots vs. the Thunder’s considerable collective length, athleticism and anticipation.
Two-ways and rookies off the bench
The Sixers had four bench players available Tuesday and used them all.
Their second unit comprised the team’s two-way contract players — Dowtin, Edwards and Pete Nance — and rookie center Adem Bona. Nance received his first run in the Sixers’ rotation, playing at both power forward and center. He logged 18 scoreless minutes.
Edwards was more aggressive than usual offensively and produced right away, scoring nine points on 4-for-5 shooting in his first eight minutes. The Sixers got OKC’s lead down to nine points in the second quarter on an Eric Gordon three and eventually had a bit of defensive success. Of course, guarding OKC is a less challenging task when Gilgeous-Alexander’s on the bench.
Oubre was the Sixers’ primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander and served as the team’s lead ball handler at times. He had a rough first half offensively, missing all seven of his field goals.
On the Sixers’ last possession of the second quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander picked off an Edwards baseline out of bounds pass. He turned the Sixers’ 13th turnover into a dunk just before halftime, sending OKC to the locker room with a 58-43 advantage.
Nothing stunning in the cards
Nurse called timeout just 95 seconds into the second half after a Gilgeous-Alexander layup. He subbed out Gordon and inserted Edwards.
Dowtin and Edwards’ shotmaking kept OKC from blowing the game wide open in the third quarter. Dowtin’s certainly shown he can score at the G League level with the Delaware Blue Coats. Edwards only exceeded 17 points once in his sole college season at Kentucky. Credit to him for capitalizing on his opportunity vs. the Thunder.
Yabusele rammed into the spotlight at the tail end of the third quarter during an especially high-energy stretch. He racked up nine points in the the final minute and four seconds of the third, capping the period with a buzzer-beating put-back layup.
The Sixers kept the surprising comeback train rolling early in the fourth quarter. Long-range jumpers from Edwards and Gordon trimmed OKC’s lead to 91-87.
Ultimately, the Sixers’ chances of overtaking the Thunder were very low.
Even with Edwards and Dowtin’s scoring and OKC’s second-half lapses in focus, the Sixers didn’t have the defensive resources to cause a Thunder drought. As has been the case on many Embiid-less nights this season, the Sixers were light on rim protection and unable to pull of something shocking against a much healthier, better opponent.
