Observations after Sixers get blown out by defending champs, OKC pulls away in 2nd half originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers could not put together two competitive halves Sunday afternoon against the defending champions.

The Thunder pulled away at Paycom Center to earn a 129-104 win and improve to 27-5 on the season. The Sixers fell to 16-14.

Tyrese Maxey had 28 points and five assists. 

OKC’s leading scorers were Chet Holmgren with 29 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 27. 

The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (right ankle sprain and right knee injury management), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain). 

The third stop on the Sixers’ five-game road trip is Memphis, where they’ll play the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Thunder:

Oklahoma City made its first nine field goals.

The Sixers’ defense was not at its finest and the Thunder’s offensive execution was razor-sharp after two straight losses to the Spurs. Jalen Williams beat Paul George on a backdoor cut and laid the ball in. Holmgren scored twice over Dominick Barlow in the post and jammed in an unguarded fast-break dunk. 

In his first career game against the Thunder, VJ Edgecombe defended the reigning MVP. He had a solid start against Gilgeous-Alexander, ceding no cheap fouls, but OKC’s superstar guard is essentially impossible to shut down. Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored over 20 points in 103 consecutive games. The longest streak in NBA history is Wilt Chamberlain’s 126 straight games.

OKC did commit seven turnovers in the first quarter and the Sixers avoided any immediate blowout concerns. A Quentin Grimes three-pointer late in the first gave the Sixers their first lead at 25-24. 

Maxey scored nine points in the first few minutes, including a soft scoop shot and a deep jumper. 

He never cooled off in the first half and continued to drive effectively into the heart of the Thunder’s defense. Maxey began 6 for for 6 from the floor and posted 15 of the Sixers’ 29 points in the opening period. He only missed two field goals in the first half on his way to 23 points. 

While there was nothing lucky about Maxey’s shotmaking in Oklahoma City, he was also due for some kind bounces. He’d had subpar shooting nights in the Sixers’ losses to the Nets and Bulls, going 31.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range over those two games. 

The Sixers’ offense relied on Maxey, although the team’s bench did provide much better production than in Friday’s defeat to Chicago. 

Adem Bona had eight points, two blocks and two rebounds in an extended first stint. Justin Edwards knocked down a three as soon as he touched the ball. Jared McCain leaked out ahead of the pack for a layup and Edwards then sunk his third triple of the second quarter to put the Sixers up 58-57. They trailed by two points at intermission.

OKC’s defense focused more on bothering Maxey after halftime and he didn’t score in the second half until a technical free throw with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Unsurprisingly, Maxey’s lack of scoring coincided with the Thunder’s lead growing. Gilgeous-Alexander’s driving layup capped an 11-0 run and built OKC’s advantage to 86-73.

Neither Edgecombe (10 points on 3-for-16 shooting) nor George (12 points on 4-for-11 shooting) had the sort of efficient performances necessary to pick up Maxey’s slack after halftime.

The Sixers moved to a zone defense late in the third quarter. They weren’t able to stick with it for long, since the Thunder dissected the zone very well. OKC passed 100 points before the end of the third and the NBA’s worst third-quarter team thus far (minus-21.4 net rating entering Sunday) lost the frame by 14 points.

It just so happens that Oklahoma City is the league’s best third-quarter team. For the Sixers, Sunday’s fourth quarter was soon a hopeless cause.