Attempting a deep 3-pointer at the top of the key, Isaiah Joe’s shot fell short. Josh Giddey collected the miss and kicked it out to Joe again, who missed another attempt. OKC grabbed a second offensive rebound but failed to tie it with mere seconds left as Jaylin Williams missed a left-wing 3-pointer.
Alas, all three outside shots were quality looks for OKC as it tried to tie it up in the final 16 seconds. Considering the circumstances, the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t have asked for more in their close 109-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I thought in the floor game we gave ourselves a great chance to win on the road,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “We gained control of the game before halftime and kinda neutralized the crowd, and really had a grip on the game for most of it.”
The Thunder — without their top scorers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams — almost pulled off the upset as all momentum was on the Sixers’ side with Joel Embiid’s return.
The short-handed Thunder showed early on that it wouldn’t be an easy win for the Sixers. They built a quick 9-3 lead in the opening three minutes. After the first quarter, the Sixers held a small 25-22 lead.
A 32-point second frame by the Thunder flipped the scoreboard. Philly was limited to 19 points and OKC entered halftime with a 54-44 advantage thanks to a 21-9 run. The Thunder held firm in the third frame and exited the quarter with an 80-73 lead over the Sixers.
Six straight points by Kelly Oubre Jr. in the opening minute of the fourth quarter suddenly cut OKC’s lead to just one point with essentially the entire final frame left. The Thunder responded by rattling off 11 consecutive points to build a 94-83 lead with 7:27 left in the contest.
The breathing room the run provided OKC quickly evaporated as the Sixers went on a 12-4 run to turn it into a three-point contest with 4:24 following a transition dunk by Paul Reed. Embiid knocked down a pull-up jumper to tie it at 101 apiece with 3:22 left in the contest.
An electric and-one by Oubre Jr. suddenly gave the Sixers the lead at 104-103 with a little over three minutes left. After that, both teams went ice cold and were combined 0-of-6 from the field for the next two minutes.
The scoring drought finally broke as Lu Dort collected a missed 3-pointer by Joe and muscled his way through for a layup. The physical basket gave OKC a 105-104 lead with 53 seconds left. Embiid retook the lead on the other end with a pair of free throws.
Down by one point, Josh Giddey lost control of his dribble and Embiid poked the ball away for the steal. Accelerating down the floor, Chet Holmgren was forced to foul the reigning MVP. The call was confirmed after a review and Embiid swished in two free throws to give the Sixers a three-point lead with 25 seconds left.
After missing a trio of decent looks from outside, the Sixers finally grabbed a rebound and sealed the result. In total, OKC was outscored by Philly in the final frame, 36-25.
The short-handed Thunder shot 43% from the field and went 13-of-39 (33.3%) from 3. They went 18-of-22 from the free-throw line. They collected 30 assists on 37 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Holmgren had 22 points and seven rebounds. Aaron Wiggins had 15 points and three steals. Isaiah Joe scored 14 points off the bench. Williams had six points and 12 assists.
“I feel like we did a great job with that all the way down the roster. Everybody was ready to play, everybody was ready to go,” Holmgren said about their performance. “I feel like it showed on both ends of the floor. Guys were flying around making big plays all night.”
Meanwhile, the Sixers shot 46% from the field and went a hot 14-of-30 (46.7%) from 3. They went 23-of-25 from the free-throw line. They dished out 27 assists on 36 baskets. Five Sixers players scored double-digit points.
After missing the last two months recovering from meniscus surgery, Embiid returned with a bit of a dramatic flare. After being reported he was inching closer to a return on Monday, the reigning MVP was ruled out for most of Tuesday and didn’t participate in shoot around. It felt the Sixers would have to wait an extra game before help arrived.
Then suddenly, less than two hours before tip, Embiid was made available. The sudden shift in availability turned this contest from an equal fight between two squads dealing with injuries to their two best players to a short-handed OKC fighting an uphill battle against the reigning MVP.
Embiid turned in 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds in his return. He shot a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Oubre Jr. exploded for 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting and went 5-of-7 from 3. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead Philly to the comeback win. Tobias Harris had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Reed had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Even though this loss will sting considering the Thunder held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter that was slowly chipped away by the Sixers, this was still a solid showing for undermanned OKC. The lack of their top scorers was fairly evident down the stretch as it mustered just four points in the final four minutes.
“In terms of the effort and intent of the team, I thought we did everything that we could do tonight to try and win,” Daigneault said. “Obviously, we came up a couple of plays short there tonight. If we came up one play ahead, it’s what happens in these close games.”
The Thunder gutted out a close contest and forced Philly to collect the win with the reigning MVP making his long-awaited return. OKC continues this gauntlet of a back-to-back by traveling to face the Boston Celtics with the hopes that at least one of Gilgeous-Alexander or Williams returns.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Chet Holmgren: B
Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, Holmgren was the Thunder’s best available scorer.
He finished with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. The rookie center went toe-to-toe with Embiid in his first game back from knee surgery.
Holmgren got off to a hot start with eight points in the first quarter. He totaled 14 points in the second half. The 21-year-old was given more on-ball reps and made the most of them with flashy finishes around the basket and getting to the free-throw line.
Alas, like the rest of the squad, Holmgren ran out of juice by the end of the contest as OKC struggled to generate points. Even though the rookie has exceeded expectations this season, there’s still room for him to grow as an on-ball creator.
“I thought he really competed, I thought he did well shifting around his role,” Daigneault said about Holmgren.
Holmgren added on his expanded role: “It’s just trying to do whatever puts our team in a position to win basketball games, and that’s what was asked of me tonight. To be out there and be versatile on both ends of the floor. If that means I got to kinda handle, and in more actions, that’s what it’s going to be.
“I’m just frustrated that we lost the game, obviously. As long as we’re winning, I’m happy doing whatever out there.”
Jaylin Williams: A-minus
With two prominent starters out, the Thunder elected to go big with their starting lineup and gave Williams the nod. He took advantage of the opportunity and turned in arguably his best outing this season.
In 28 minutes, Williams had six points on 2-of-8 shooting, 12 assists and six rebounds. He shot 0-of-5 from 3 — including a crucial miss in the final seconds.
OKC utilized Williams’ playmaking abilities and used him as an offensive hub. He racked up double-digit assists and made up for the lack of self-creating scorers the Thunder had by running DHOs off him.
The Williams-Holmgren frontcourt pairing could be a weapon the Thunder could use in the playoffs if matched up against a large frontcourt. It’s yielded positive results for the most part for OKC in its limited run.
“I thought he was outstanding, great effort, great execution, great intelligence, and I thought he executed the game plan to a tee,” Daigneault said about Williams. “The team did a good job on Embiid in terms of setting our double teams and firing out of those and closing out, it’s hard… That’s why he’s a great player, but J-Will was great on both ends of the floor, really, really good.
Lu Dort: B
Grabbing the offensive board, Dort banked the ball off the glass and gave OKC a one-point lead with 53 seconds left. Even though the Thunder lost, this sequence highlighted a quality night for the 24-year-old.
In 33 minutes, Dort finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, Dort brought the ball up a lot and was a primary ball-handler. The added responsibility didn’t overwhelm the veteran starter and finished with a team-high plus-six plus-minus.
Isaiah Joe: C
Getting a pair of chances to tie it up, Joe missed two 3-pointers in the final seconds as the Sixers escaped the repercussions of leaving open the sharpshooter. The Thunder couldn’t have asked for a better pair of looks down the stretch.
In 28 minutes off the bench, Joe finished with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting and went 4-of-11 from 3. He also tallied seven assists and four rebounds.
The pair of heartbreaking misses headlined a tough final frame for Joe, who went 1-of-4 from 3 as OKC’s offense dried up. The Thunder needed the bench guard to hit on his looks with points being hard to generate down the stretch.
“One of our best shooters took two shots, which were great looks for him, that didn’t go through, which is a part of basketball,” Dort said about Joe’s final two outside attempts.
