By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
In a night that had fans chanting “Trust the Process” and “M-V-P” when Joel Embiid took the court, the Philadelphia 76ers put together a very strong team effort and nearly upset the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite the 103-97 loss, the Wells Fargo Center was electric throughout the majority of this one, as Embiid hit fadeaway jumpers and showed off some slick post moves in his debut. In addition to Embiid, the Sixers got great contributions from Sergio Rodriguez and even Nik Stauskas. The Sixers led for the majority of this one, but Russell Westbrook hit some clutch shots in the final moments to lead the Thunder.
Player Performances:
Anybody that watched this game could sense the excitement in the crowd. This game started somewhat of a new era of Sixers basketball with Embiid and others making their regular season debuts. Joel was in the game to start and finish, calling for the ball down the stretch and not being afraid to attack the basket with the game on the line. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes, shooting 6-for-16 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line. The impressive notes on Embiid include his ability to shoot jumpers, make moves in the post and also get to the line and hit free throws, a big attribute for a guy of his stature. If there was any knock on Joel in his debut, he did rush some things as expected, but he will need to pass the ball more often as his season progresses.
Besides Embiid, Sergio Rodriguez was the star in this one, running the Sixers offense extremely well while committing no turnovers. He finished just short of a double-double, scoring 12 while tallying nine assists and four rebounds. Nik Stauskas provided some offensive spark for the Sixers in the third. After being critisized by fans for making the 15-man roster, he remained aggressive, not relying solely on his three-point game to score points. Nik scored 13 on 5-for-6 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds. Jerami Grant and Robert Covington each had 10 while Jahlil Okafor scored eight in 16 minutes, four more than his 12-minute allotment.
Meanwhile, Dario Saric had a debut to forget, shooting just 2-for-12, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. He did have seven rebounds, though. Richaun Holmes led the Sixers with three blocks while Embiid and Grant each had two. They had 10 as a team.
On the Thunder side of things, Russell Westbrook fell just short of a triple-double, scoring 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds and nine assists. Steven Adams contributed with 16 points while Enes Canter earned a double-double off the bench with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Philadelphia finished the game shooting 42.9 percent to OKC’s 41.5. The Sixers were 7-for-24 from downtown compared to the Thunder’s 6-for-22 line. Oklahoma City out-rebounded the Sixers by 10, 53-43. The Sixers were overwhelmed in the paint, outscored 46-32 and only scored nine fast break points to the Thunder’s 23.
Game Rewind:
This game was electric to start, with the Sixers fans showering Joel Embiid and Dario Saric with cheers every time they touched the ball. Dario even received “DAR-E-OH” chants during his first trip to the line. The Sixers first points of the game came via an unlikely alley-oop between Sergio Rodriguez and Gerald Henderson. Saric, meanwhile got fouled and hit one of two from the line for his first point before hitting a jumper on the next possession for his first field goal. Embiid grabbed three rebounds and block of Russell Westrbook before hitting his first shot, a Kobe-esque fadeaway jumper just beyond the foul line.
After Embiid got his first rest, in came Jahlil Okafor and he didn’t waste much time getting involved, scoring six points in under four minutes during his first clump of minutes, including this step back jumper to fool Steven Adams.
Jahlil Okafor putting the moves on Steven Adams. https://t.co/mOxJmcyaKD
— Jake Hyman (@RealJakeHyman) October 27, 2016
The Sixers led by as many as 11 in the first, but once Embiid, Saric, Henderson and Covington went to the bench, the Thunder went on a 14-1 run to take a 21-19 lead, their first of the night. After one, the Sixers led by one, 24-23, despite Embiid sitting on the bench for the final eight minutes of the quarter.
Philadelphia came out shooting well in the second, with Nik Stauskas putting together a few nice drives and Robert Covington giving them a 33-25 advantage with his first triple of the night. Wells Fargo Center went crazy when Joel Embiid, in for his second stint of the night, hit a wide open three to extend the Sixers lead.
Does your 7-footer shoot threes like this?Ours does.
Embiid's first triple. #SixersTalk https://t.co/uy2JBGAjVE
— CSN Philly (@CSNPhilly) October 27, 2016
Oklahoma City was persistent, cutting another Sixers lead to one, 39-38 with just over five minutes to play in the half. An Oklahoma City 8-1 run, including two open slams and a hook shot from center Steven Adams, gave them a four-point lead with 2:46 to play in the half. A Richaun Holmes dunk put the Sixers back up 49-48 with time winding down and the two teams would go into halftime locked at 51-51.
Embiid finished his first half of regular season basketball with five points on 2-for-7 shooting to go along with five rebounds and a block. Like we saw in his fist game against Boston in the preseason, Joel was rushing things a bit. Meanwhile, Gerald Henderson looked strong in the first half, scoring nine points while Sergio Rodriguez dropped seven while dishing out five assists and grabbing three boards.
The Sixers and Thunder exchanged baskets for the first part of the third, with Embiid getting his first points of the second half with a nifty spin move around Steven Adams in the post. In the third, Nik Stauskas continued to be aggressive. Despite missing a wide open three, he hit two free throws following a nice drive to the basket. A few possessions later, Sergio found him cutting to the basket for a slam to give him 10 points.
Joel Embiid came into the game with just under three minutes to go in the third and took a hard foul, but got up without an issue. As he stood at the free throw line, fans showered him with M-V-P chants as he nonchalantly hit both shots to put the Sixers up 71-67. Philadelphia closed out the third ahead by six, 75-69.
Joel Embiid’s big debut had him & Philly fans feeling confident. https://t.co/eFGblxixUB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 27, 2016
In the final quarter, the Sixers maintained their lead as Joel Embiid began to challenge Steven Adams in the post from time to time, getting to the line for some free throws to the sounds of more process chants. Sergio Rodriguez continued his impressive night in the fourth, inching closer to a double-double within five minutes to go.
With the game locked at 95 a piece, Saric and Henderson both missed threes, setting up a close finish with 1:47 to play in the game. Following a Westbrook make to put the Thunder up by two, Embiid hit a 10-foot jumper to answer and tie things at 95. Philadelphia had the ball with 21 seconds to go, down by two, but Gerald Henderson’s shot was blocked and OKC rushed to the other side of the floor for a bucket, pushing their lead to 101-97. The Sixers got the ball back, but Embiid was called for a charging foul and the Thunder closed out with a pair of free throws to win 103-97.
Up Next:
The Sixers welcome Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon for a 12:30 p.m. matinee.
