OKC Thunder vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game Grades

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder did not allow a losing streak to begin last night beating the Philadelphia 76ers 109-85 to improve to 25-7 on the year.

The Thunder shot 52.o percent from the field for the game and made 10-of-17 3-pointers. They held the 76ers to just 40.5 percent shooting.

A big key for the Thunder was forcing the 76ers to turn the ball over 20 times and scoring 24 points off those turnovers.

Nick Young led the 76ers with 21 points off the bench and Jrue Holiday finished with 15 points and nine assists.

The Thunder will play next Sunday at 1 p.m. EST on the road vs. the Toronto Raptors.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 36 minutes, 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists – B+

Durant made 26 points look very easy last night as he has done so often this season. The highlight of the night for KD was an and-1 slam dunk with his left hand that only he could have pulled off because of his reach and coordination. Durant tried to establish himself in the post a lot in this game. He’s been the most efficient post player in the NBA this season but last night was average by his standards. Still good to see him going down there more often.

Russell Westbrook – 34 minutes, 27 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – A

Westbrook continues to shoot much better than he did for most of December. Last night, he efficiently made 10-of-17 field goals including all four of his 3-point attempts which is always gravy for him. He has recently made a three or two to start games and that seems to calm him down and give him the confidence to score more throughout the game. He did turn the ball over six times but still a very good night from Westbrook.

Serge Ibaka – 29 minutes, 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals – B+

Double-doubles are great news from Ibaka but he didn’t block a shot for only the second time this season last night. Both games in which he didn’t record a block have been against the 76ers. Ibaka showed flashes of some post moves which was awesome to see. He made 6-of-10 shots which has become very normal for him this year.

Kevin Martin – 31 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal – B+

Martin got back on track shooting the rock last night after a few games of really poor shooting nights. He also made all four of his 3-point attempts in the game. Now that he’s got his confidence all the way back shooting, the rest of his scoring game will hopefully open up as well and he can start getting to the free throw line again.

Kendrick Perkins – 20 minutes, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block – C

This wasn’t a game where Perkins was needed to do much as the 76ers played smaller lineups than most teams. The two opposing centers, Lavoy Allen and Spencer Hawes, shot 7-for-21 from the field combined. Perkins was just 2-of-7 himself and took a few of those open midrange shots he likes to. The offense is just so ugly when he’s out there.

Thabo Sefolosha – 30 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists – B

It was a quiet game from Sefolosha and he did his job. He made 2-of-4 field goals including a three and impacted the game in a few other ways as well.

Nick Collison – 23 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists – B+

Collison was also his usual self last night. The three assists were nice and his passing has become a very important part of the second unit. Many times per game he has the ball in a dribble hand-off position where he can pick up assists. Last night, he did just that.

Reggie Jackson – 14 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – B

No turnovers from Jackson is always good and he was once again more aggressive than he was last year. He does this thing where he looks off passing to Durant all the time and last night there was one instance where he did so on a fast break then found Martin for a trailing three which he made. At that time it was the right move but overall, just get the ball to Durant and get out of the way seems to be the best mantra.

Hasheem Thabeet – 17 minutes, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block – B+

Thabeet was a solid force last night including two offensive rebounds. He had better numbers than Perkins and looked better than he has in some time. It’s going to be like that for Thabeet this year. He’ll have his moments but in the big ones, will probably be pretty useless.