OKC Thunder grades vs. 76ers: 14th loss ties franchise worst

Unlike many recent opponents, the 76ers weren’t taking any chances on losing Monday to the OKC Thunder.  Instead, each of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris who were on the NBA injury report as being out or questionable suited up.

After all, they were mired in their losing streak, albeit only four games — but for a team trying to claim the Eastern Conference that was a substantial mark as they’d fallen behind the Nets by 1.5 games.

With the victory over the Thunder they cut Brooklyn’s lead to one game and will cross their fingers the Raptors can sweep them with a win on Tuesday.

The loss for the Thunder was their 14th tying a franchise mark for futility set in the 2008-09 debut season.

The Sixers didn’t mess around winning all four quarters. Each quarter Philly kept adding to their lead. In the initial frame, they built an eight-point edge (34-26). In the second they added seven to the padding with a 26-19 point effort.

In the second half, it was more of the same with 33-21 third quarter to give the 76ers a 27 point advantage entering the final frame. Wrapping up the game Philly won the final frame 28-24.

None of the starters played more than 25 minutes (Harris) and they sat the fourth quarter allowing the reserves to finish the game.

The OKC Thunder again were shorthanded playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the 18th consecutive game (they’ve lost 17 of those matches) and Luguentz Dort was out again for the third time in four games.

The Thunder continued to give opportunities to their young roster — so let’s take a look at how they fared versus the 76ers.