Oklahoma City Thunder come away with a win against the Philadelphia 76ers
The Oklahoma City Thunder (4-3) survived a late run by the Philadelphia 76ers (2-6) to pull away for a 109-103 victory on Wednesday 10 November at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder were led by their dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who each finished with 31 points on the night. Durant added in seven rebounds and three steals while Westbrook
had a game-high 12 assists. Playing without their starting small forward Jeff Green for the second straight game due to a sprained left ankle, the Thunder also got 12 points from Serge Ibaka while Thabo Sefolosha chipped in with 10. James Harden led all Thunder
bench scorers with nine points in 22 minutes.
Sixers’ power forward Elton Brand had a solid all-around game with 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in 38 minutes while point guard Jrue Holiday had a double-double with 17 points
and 11 assists. Evan Turner, selected second overall in last summer’s NBA Draft, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Andres Nocioni had 12. Jodie Meeks shot 4-5 from three-point range for 17 points off the bench.
After winning the first two quarters, the Thunder entered halftime up 59-51 on the Sixers, a lead they would increase to 11 points going into the final quarter. But the rookie Meeks would
score 13 of his 17 points in the final quarter to cut the Thunder’s lead all the way down to three at 99-96 with just over two minutes remaining. But thanks to some big plays from Durant and Westbrook, the Thunder were able to go up 104-97 with under a minute
remaining, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
What they said
The key play down the stretch for the Thunder was an alley-oop layup from Sefolosha to Westbrook with only one second left on the shot clock. The Sixers were within three points with 2:35
to play before the made bucket.
"That was a terrific pass to Russell and that was a big basket for us with one second," Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters after the game. "Those are tough to overcome."
While the Thunder would have liked to build on their fourth quarter lead rather than see it shrink, they are a confident team in the last 12 minutes of a ball game.
"So far, I think we've been doing a good job closing down games," said Sefolosha. "Every time we're close in the fourth quarter, we've been able to come out on top."
Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said his team simply got beat by two of the NBA’s best players.
"We've just got to be better in those crucial situations, and let's not take anything away," he said. "Durant's the leading scorer in the league and Westbrook is unbelievable, so it's
not like we got beat by two guys who aren't great, great players."
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