Sixers Shook by Thunder in Second Half

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Oklahoma City 111, Philadelphia 97 – Box Score

It’s rare for the Philadelphia 76ers to force 20 turnovers from the opposition. Rarer still for the team to only give the ball away 8 times themselves. One might hope the confluence of those events would be enough to spell victory. Unfortunately, a combination of Oklahoma City dominating on the glass, and having two of the top five players in the league, was enough overcome that turnover margin and serve the Sixers their 17th loss in the last 18 games.

For a while, the Sixers played good basketball, leading by as many as 7 points in the first half and only trailing by 6 at halftime. Philadelphia was carried offensively by Nik Stauskas, who had a career-high 23 points, the first time he’s surpassed the 20-point barrier in the NBA. Sauce drained 5 of his 7 three point attempts and has now been in double figures in 4 of his past 5 games. A late-season surge from Stauskas would certainly be a welcome development in a season largely devoid of encouraging storylines.

Still, on one side there was Nik Stauskas, and the other, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. KD was his quietly efficient self, scoring a game-high 26 points on 11-16 shooting, adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook put forth his usual eye-popping performance, dropping a triple-double with 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was Westbrook’s 13th triple-double this season; the Thunder are 13-0 in those games, meaning OKC has more wins this year when Westbrook has a triple-double than the Sixers have wins total.

Even without their two stars, the Thunder might still have won simply behind their effort on the glass. Oklahoma City out-rebounded the Sixers 63-36, as Durant and Westbrook both put up those big rebounding numbers, and starting center Steven Adams had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Philadelphia’s weak performance on the boards was especially disappointing considering the Thunder were without Serge Ibaka (DNP – Rest / too good to bother with the Sixers).

The Sixers are back in action Sunday against the Celtics. 13 of these left, folks.