The Western Conference-leading Thunder never trailed and led by as many as 41 points Wednesday night against the Sixers.
The final score of the 57-12 Thunder’s victory at Paycom Center was 133-100.
Aaron Wiggins was OKC’s top scorer, posting 26 points. Jaylin Williams recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists.
Quentin Grimes had 28 points, five assists and three steals for the Sixers. Chuma Okeke tallied 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Justin Edwards scored 19 points.
The majority of the 23-46 Sixers’ roster remained out, including Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain and right finger sprain), Paul George (season-ending left groin and left knee injuries) and Joel Embiid (season-ending left knee injury).
OKC also sat quite a few key players. Superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rested. Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace were all out with injuries. Notably, the Sixers’ first-round pick this year will convey to the Thunder if it does not fall within the top six.
The Sixers will visit the Spurs on Friday night. Here are observations on their defeat in Oklahoma City:
Sixers struggle vs. OKC’s bigs
Former Sixer Isaiah Joe helped OKC jump out to a lead, draining a three-pointer to open the scoring.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called timeout less than two minutes into the night after Jaylin Williams hit a triple to put the Thunder up 10-0. OKC racked up 42 points in the first quarter and built a 16-point lead through 12 minutes.
As usual, the Sixers faced significant disadvantages in their efforts to guard opposing big men. OKC’s starting frontcourt of Williams and Chet Holmgren profited on early opportunities to shoot over smaller Sixers inside. As soon as rookie center Branden Carlson checked in, he got a put-back, and-one layup. The trio of Williams, Holmgren and Carlson totaled 28 first-quarter points on 11-for-13 shooting.
Going into Wednesday night, the Sixers ranked 29th in the NBA in opponents’ field goal percentage at the rim, according to Cleaning the Glass (68.6 percent). With centers Embiid, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona still sidelined, their interior defense was never likely to dramatically improve in Oklahoma City.
Nice night for Okeke
The Sixers fell back to earth in the shooting department after sinking 24 threes in Monday’s overtime loss to the Rockets. They started 1 for 8 from long range.
However, Okeke’s jumpers were dropping right away.
Playing the third game of his second 10-day contract with the Sixers, Okeke drilled three shots beyond the arc in the first quarter. The 6-foot-7 forward was also the Sixers’ best rebounder. He pulled down 11 boards (four offensive, seven defensive) in the first half alone.
Whether or not they stick with the Sixers past this season, players such as Okeke, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Oshae Brissett have had chances to essentially audition for the league. They’ve all clearly been glad to show what they can do.
No March Madness
The Sixers cut the Thunder’s lead down to 52-46 with a 16-1 run in the second quarter. That’s as close as they’d get, though.
While Grimes kept piling up the points, he didn’t come near matching his career-high 46-point performance in Houston and had a rough third quarter.
Once the Sixers fall behind, it’s hard to see any realistic path back into games these days. Outside of Grimes lighting it up, there’s just not much the Sixers can lean on to wipe out major deficits. Every time the Sixers take the floor, it seems like a win would be a March Madness-style upset.
And, as the Thunder demonstrated Wednesday, OKC certainly doesn’t need its full-strength team to earn very decisive wins.
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