Tobias Harris, 76ers Dominate Thunder on New Year's Eve

The undermanned Philadelphia 76ers paid a visit to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

After seeing their biggest win streak of the season snapped on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, the Philadelphia 76ers hit the road to face the Western Conference’s top seed, the New Orleans Pelicans, after winning eight of their last nine games.

Unfortunately, Philly’s lack of success on the road against New Orleans left the Sixers taking on their second-straight loss on the current road trip.

Following their matchup in New Orleans on Friday, the Sixers quickly hit the road to Oklahoma City as they prepared to wrap up 2022 with a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back. It was the first matchup between the Sixers and the Thunder this season.

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

The Sixers entered Saturday night’s game shorthanded. On Saturday morning, the team added James Harden and PJ Tucker to the injury report due to “injury management.” Although they were initially questionable, they were eventually ruled out.

As for the third-year guard Tyrese Maxey, he was ruled out early. After making his return to the court on Friday night for the first time in 18 games, Maxey got Saturday night off as the team wants to ease the young standout back into the swing of things.

Without Maxey, Harden, and Tucker available to them, the Sixers trotted out a starting five with their usuals Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and De’Anthony Melton, along with Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton.

The Sixers definitely didn’t play down to their rebuilding opponent. Within the first few minutes of the game, the Sixers got off to a quick start, forming a 20-6 run within the first few minutes of the matchup. The veteran forward Tobias Harris led the charge by draining all four of his shots and both of his free throws, totaling ten points. 

As a team, the Sixers drilled 62 percent of their shots from the field, knocking down 44 percent of their threes. Philly outscored OKC 38-20 in the first quarter of action.

2nd Quarter

The Sixers kept the ball rolling in the second quarter. Tobias Harris, who got off to a decent start offensively, couldn’t miss once again. In the seven minutes he spent on the floor, the veteran made all three of his field goals for six points.

Meanwhile, the All-Star big man Joel Embiid got to the free-throw line to make all four of his attempts. He produced six points as well.

Philly’s bench got active as well. Montrezl Harrell was active as he put up six points, while Danuel House and Furkan Korkmaz produced nine points total. The Sixers weren’t as active from three in the second quarter, but they still made nearly 50 percent of their shots before entering the intermission.

The Sixers went into halftime with a 26-point lead. In the first half, they led by as many as 33 points.

3rd Quarter

The Sixers slowed down a bit entering the third quarter. As the Thunder cut the lead down with a quick run in the first couple minutes of action, Oklahoma City looked to climb back.

The Thunder struggled from the field overall. As a team, they drained just 37 percent of their shots. However, the Sixers didn’t shoot much better. As OKC got a nice boost from its veteran forward Luguentz Dort, who scored ten points on six shots, the Thunder outscored the Sixers by nine points in the third quarter.

Fortunately, Philadelphia’s first-half run allowed them to go into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 89-72 lead. 

4th Quarter 

Despite outscoring the Sixers in the third quarter, the Thunder couldn’t prevent Philadelphia from pulling away with their double-digit lead.

Another solid quarter for Harris helped the Sixers put up 26 points. With a few minutes left in the outing, the Sixers cleared their bench, allowing reserves such as Jaden Springer and Paul Reed to check in and get some action. Both Springer and Reed produced two points a piece.

Philadelphia finished the night, outscoring the Thunder 26-24. The Sixers wrapped up Saturday night’s matchup with a 115-96 victory. With that win, they advance to 21-14 on the year, climbing out of their two-game losing streak. They get a day off before returning to the court at home to face the New Orleans Pelicans for a rematch on Monday.

Player of the Game

Tobias Harris

Sixers starters such as Harris didn’t have to play their typical amount of minutes on Saturday, as the blowout victory allowed them to get the night off early. During his 31 minutes on the court, Harris was efficient from the field as he knocked down ten of his 17 shots for a game-high of 23 points.