76ers Ease Past Thunder
Well, that was fun.
The 76ers get their first win in 10 days against Oklahoma City 121-90 at the Wells Fargo Center. This was the 40th win on the season for Philadelphia.
After being swept in a pair of road games to the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Sixers are back on the right path as they look to regain control of the East. Philly is now 1 game back of 1st place Brooklyn.
Embiid led all Sixers in scoring with 21 points in 23 minutes. Joel was 6 of 10 from the floor and made 7 of his 9 free throw attempts. Not much of a heavy load for Embiid's standards, which is good considering the upcoming schedule.
Ben Simmons came back from an illness scoring 12 points on 75% from the floor. His immediate impact in transition and defensively was evident tonight. When Ben Simmons is on the court, the 76ers are a better team.
Furkan Korkmaz and Tobias Harris both had double-digit points, taking high percentage shots in the flow of the offense. Harris has been excellent as of late in his pick and roll decision-making. Korkmaz made 2 three-pointers and had a steal in his 20 minutes of play.
Matisse Thybulle made 2 of his 3 three-point attempts while playing excellent perimeter defense. You really couldn't ask for a more solid performance from Matisse.
We got a taste of the Deleware Blue Coats in the 4th quarter, and they didn't disappoint. Paul Reed - aka bball paul - was electric. In Paul's 10 minutes of action, he had 10 points and 9 rebounds, including a couple of powerful dunks. Isaiah Joe, Rayjon Tucker, and Mason Jones each had 2 points.
For the Thunder, they had up-and-coming stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort unavailable for tonight's game. Even Sixers legend, Tony Bradley, sat out.
One bright spot for OKC would be the 22 point outing from Ty Jerome. The 23-yr old could use this performance as a major confidence boost for the rest of the season. This is the second time he has notched 20 or more points in his career.
The 76ers will take on the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday and Friday as part of a two-game mini series. Both of those games will be at the Wells Fargo Center.