The Philadelphia 76ers (24-21) aim to nab their sixth win in the last seven games tonight against an Oklahoma City Thunder (29-20) squad that has won seven in a row. There were plenty of interesting, chippy moments from the first meeting between these two teams, a triple-OT game that ended in a two-point Thunder.
Although OKC has won seven straight, they will be without guard Andre Roberson after he ruptured his patellar tendon on Saturday night in Detroit. The Thunder struggled on the defensive end of the court when Roberson missed eight games earlier in the season, going 4-4. Rookie Terrance Ferguson will likely take his place in the lineup. All that being said, Philadelphia's young duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will still have a tough task against Oklahoma City's Big-3 of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.
Tensions flare in first meeting between Sixers and Thunder
If we're to get even half of the intensity from the December matchup between the Sixers and Thunder, this game should be a treat. Philadelphia closed the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, tying the game at 94-94. The Sixers went up by five in the first extra session before Westbrook converted a triple and George hit a jumper, forcing a second overtime. In the second extra session, Covington and Westbrook each hit three's and Russ and Embiid exchanged jumpers, keeping the game even going into the third OT.
In the third OT, Embiid and Westbrook combined to score the first eight points of period, but with nine seconds to go, Andre Roberson hit a short jumper in the paint to put OKC up by two. JJ Redick rushed a three-pointer and OKC got the board and closed the game out 119-117. During the third OT, Thunder big man Steven Adams fouled out and Embiid waved him goodbye to the bench in typical fashion. After the game, Westbrook waved bye-bye to Embiid and the two gave their responses to the media.
"I'm not about to get in a back-and-forth with him," Westbrook said. "I'm not about to give him my energy."
"They did a lot of things. But, I mean, the dude shot 10 for 33. I wish I would had shot 33 times. I guess we would have had a better chance of actually winning the game," Embiid said "But he told me to go home. This is my home. I ain't going nowhere."
Earlier in the game, Embiid hit a tough bucket in the post over Carmelo and earned the foul. The Sixers big man went right into Melo's face who was having none of it.
Brett Brown seeking 100th win
Sixers head coach Brett Brown has been at the front of the entire Sixers process. No matter who the guy was calling the shots up at the top, Brown was always the person in front of the cameras and the microphones. Whether you like Brett Brown as a coach or not, you have to admire the adversity he and the Sixers have gone through over the past few seasons to get to this point. Dealing with rosters with the likes of Furkan Aldemir, Brandon Davies, Alexey Shved to name a few, Brown has navigated through the early stages of the process and is now armed with a team of young, promising talent.
Sure, Brown and the Sixers went through a tough slump during the month of December, going 5-10, but they've rebounded in January to the tune of a 7-2 record. They have the second best record in the NBA since Christmas – 10-3.
Tonight, they face a tough task with Oklahoma City, but a win would give Brett Brown the 100th of his coaching career. After winning just 10 games a few short years ago, the Sixers are relevant again and the development of young talent on the roster is due in large part to Brown.
TLC, Anderson making most of opportunities
For the majority of this season, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has looked lost and out of place, falling out of Brett Brown's rotation at the end of December and early January. Injuries to JJ Redick and Jerryd Bayless has pushed TLC into a starting role and he's excelling big time. The 22-year-old native of France is averaging 14.5 points per game over the last four contest as a starter, shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 57.7 percent from beyond the arc. Brett Brown indicated that Bayless will have to fight for minutes when he's healthy if TLC continues to perform at this level.
Justin Anderson has been a big spark off the bench for Philadelphia over the last three games, averaging 10.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Normally somewhat of an erratic shooter, Anderson's form has looked better as of late. The former first round pick from 2015 is shooting 66.6 percent over the last three games and has hit three of four from beyond over the last two.
Projected Lineups
| Matchup Preview | January 28, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (24-21, 12-11 Away) |
Oklahoma City Thunder (29-20, 18-7 Home) |
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Game Information
Tip-off: 6pm
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
TV: ESPN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
