Joel Embiid helps 76ers halt Thunder’s six-game win streak

OKLAHOMA CITY – Philadelphia’s National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid scored 35 points and drained six free throws in the final 9.8 seconds to help the 76ers hold off the Thunder 127-123 in Oklahoma City on Nov 25.

Embiid came up just shy of his first triple-double of the season, adding 11 rebounds and nine assists to go with four blocked shots and a steal to help the Sixers end the Thunder’s six-game winning streak.

Up by nine with 49sec remaining, the Sixers saw their lead cut to 121-118 on rookie centre Chet Holmgren’s dunk with 11sec to go.

Embiid made two free throws, and he responded again at the line after Holmgren twice cut the deficit to two points.

“Obviously he put the game away,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid, but he added that in a league where late charges have become the norm, the Sixers have to finish better.

“Great performance, a lot of good stuff, et cetera,” he added. “But as everybody’s seeing around the league, there are a lot of wild finishes in the games. We’ve got to make sure we stay locked in.”

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and eight rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 16 points for Philadelphia.

Holmgren delivered another impressive performance, leading the Thunder with 33 points to go with six rebounds and three blocked shots. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 and guard Josh Giddey finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Giddey started despite an investigation by the NBA into an accusation that surfaced on social media that he had an improper relationship with an underage girl.

The 21-year-old Australian player has declined to comment on the matter, while Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said on Nov 24 that it was now “a league matter”.

On the Sixers, Daigneault said: “They delivered. They made some plays. They made some shots. I thought we had a couple of self-inflicted mistakes and unforced errors on our part.”

Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Nets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-97 victory over the short-handed Miami Heat.

Mikal Bridges scored 24 points and Cameron Johnson added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who had all five starters score in double figures.

Caleb Martin scored 22 off the bench to lead Miami and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr scored 18 for the Heat, who played without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo one day after surrendering a 21-point lead in a loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “There definitely was a competitive spirit. I commend the guys for making that fight at different times and then we were hobbled at different times.

“It was a pretty ugly game and we were doing whatever we possibly could to keep it within striking distance.” AFP