OKC Thunder Outlast Heavily Injured 76ers 118-102

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the nine-man Philadelphia 76ers 118-102 Tuesday night, securing three straight road wins.

Philadelphia cut its deficit to four points with 10 minutes remaining in the game, though the Thunder responded immediately with a 20-5 run. Jalen Williams knocked down his second 3-pointer, made a floater and assisted an Isaiah Joe three during that five-and-a-half-minute stretch.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 32 points on 12-for-15 shooting, nine assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Jalen Williams finished with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block. Oklahoma City's two primary playmakers committed four turnovers each.

Cason Wallace secured his third double-digit outing in his last four games, totaling 18 points on 10 shots, five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Undrafted forward Justin Edwards racked up a career-high 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including four triples, to lead 76ers scorers. He added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Jeff Dowtin Jr. finished with a career-high 18 points on 14 shots, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Guerschon Yabusele recorded 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists.

Statistic	Thunder	76ers
Points	118	102
2-Pointers	33-for-45	24-for-40
3-Pointers	12-for-36	13-for-44
Free Throws	16-for-18	15-for-20
Turnovers	17	21
Offensive Rebounds	10	11

Oklahoma City started Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Wallace for the sixth consecutive game.

Philadelphia started Reggie Jackson, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Council IV and Yabusele. The 76ers' injured list contained eight players, including Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and rookie guard Jared McCain.

The Thunder converted its first six field-goal attempts before the game's opening timeout, including makes from all five starters. Gilgeous-Alexander assisted a rolling Hartenstein's layup, penetrated the defense for two mid-range jumpers and found Dort on a wide-open 3-pointer in that span. Wallace stripped Oubre Jr. and made a coast-to-coast layup — Oklahoma City tallied three steals and three blocks in the first quarter, forcing six 76ers turnovers.

After Council IV threw up an and-one transition layup just over three minutes into the game, the Thunder went on a 22-2 run lasting seven and a half minutes. Dort hit a corner three, Hartenstein threw down an alley-oop from Wallace and Gilgeous-Alexander made three field goals in four possessions — highlighted by an uncontested dunk and catch-and-shoot triple.

Philadelphia racked up 10 points in the quarter's final two minutes, including a 28-foot Council IV three and Edwards layup off an inbounds play with one second left. The Thunder still led 37-21 after the first frame.

Edwards continued his offensive production when the second quarter resumed, finding Adem Bona for an explosive dunk and making back-to-back 2-pointers. His driving finger roll past Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins forced a Thunder timeout after two minutes. Gordon and Yabusele nailed consecutive threes to bring Philadelphia within nine points midway through the period, as the Thunder committed a season-high 12 first-half turnovers.

Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in with five minutes remaining and helped stabilize the Thunder's two-way play. He stole Edwards' baseline inbounds pass with four seconds left and slammed an uncontested dunk to close the half. Oklahoma City held a 58-43 advantage at halftime.

The shorthanded 76ers exploded for 38 third-quarter points. Oubre Jr. recorded a driving floater from Jackson two minutes after the break for his first field goal of the game. Dowtin Jr. racked up seven points in less than a minute midway through the frame, executing two athletic drives and draining a 3-pointer.

Edwards reached a career-high 19 points before Yabusele exploded for nine in the final 64 seconds, torching Oklahoma City's interior defense. He made a putback layup at the buzzer as the Thunder led 87-81 with one quarter to go.

Oklahoma City returns home to play the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers this Thursday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. CST. The Cavaliers secured the season's first matchup 129-122 on Jan. 8.

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