3 observations after severely undermanned Sixers fall to Thunder – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers couldn’t overcome a gigantic difference in personnel Tuesday night against the Western Conference-leading Thunder

They fell to a 118-102 loss at the Wells Fargo Center and fell to 15-23 with their third straight loss. 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 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 (sprained left foot)
• Paul George (right ankle soreness)
• Caleb Martin (right groin soreness)
• KJ Martin (stress reaction on left foot)
• 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 everyday. He and KJ Martin recently resumed on-field practice, according to a team official.

Here are observations from the Sixers’ extremely undermanned loss Tuesday:

An early OKC blitz

Ricky Council IV made his first career start and Reggie Jackson made his first start as a Sixer.

Council converted an and-one layup to cut the Thunder’s lead to 10-9. From there, the Sixers’ deficit grew, and the talent disparity between the teams was glaring.

The Sixers allowed a 22-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to slide wherever he wanted to go. He cut free along the baseline for a layup, cut through the Sixers’ defense for an easy hoop inside and finished the first quarter with 14 points and three assists. He started 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 got in and around the paint, they struggled to force shots off against the Thunder’s considerable collective length, athleticism and anticipation.

Two-way and rookies from the bench

The Sixers had four bench players available Tuesday and used them all.

Their second unit consisted of 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 recorded 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 cut OKC’s lead to nine points in the second quarter on an Eric Gordon three and eventually had some defensive success. Of course, guarding OKC is a less challenging task when Gilgeous-Alexander is on the bench.

Oubre was the Sixers’ primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander and at times served as the team’s leading ball handler. He had a rough first half offensively, missing all seven of his field goals.

On the Sixers’ final possession of the second quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander picked off an Edwards baseline pass out of bounds. He turned the Sixers’ 13th turnover into a dunk just before halftime, sending OKC into the locker room with a 58-43 advantage.

Nothing great in the cards

The nurse called timeout just 95 seconds into the second half after a Gilgeous-Alexander layup. He investigated Gordon and inducted Edwards.

Dowtin and Edwards’ shot making kept OKC from blowing the game wide open in the third quarter. Dowtin has certainly shown that he can score G League level with the Delaware Blue Coats. Edwards topped 17 points just once in his only college season at Kentucky. Kudos to him for taking advantage of his opportunity vs. Thunder.

Yabusele hit the spotlight late in the third quarter during a particularly high-energy stretch. He scored nine points in the final minute and four seconds of the third, ending the period with a buzzer-beating put-back layup.

The Sixers kept the surprise comeback train rolling early in the fourth quarter. Long jumpers from Edwards and Gordon trimmed OKC’s lead to 91-87.

In the end, the Sixers’ chances of overtaking the Thunder were very slim.

Even with Edwards and Dowtin’s scoring and OKC’s second-half lapse in focus, the Sixers didn’t have the defensive resources to cause a blitz. As has been the case on many Embiid-less nights this season, the Sixers were light on rim protection and unable to pull off anything shocking against a much healthier, better opponent.