Joel Embiid stuffs one home over Russell Westbrook
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers met up this Sunday in yet another heated chapter in their budding rivalry. The two teams don’t compete in the same conference, but they went at it like it was game seven of the NBA Finals.
Last matchup, Russell Westbrook and Joel Embiid exchanged heated words from across the court after the point guard waved bye to the Sixers bench as time expired in a triple overtime win for the Thunder. On Sunday, the two picked right up where the left off.
OKC went home with their 8th straight victory, but Embiid snagged the highlight of the game after he bulldozed through Westbrook for a savage posterizing jam. The first time All-Star got the better of Russ on that play, but The Brodie got the last laugh as the Thunder defeated Philly 122-112
Russ fell a rebound shy of yet another triple-double as he scored 37 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out 14 assists to lead the way. His performance was beastly, but OKC couldn’t have won without the two way excellence of Paul George. The small forward chipped in 31 points, four steals and more than justified his selection to replace DeMarcus Cousins at this year’s All-Star game.
While Westbrook will continue to be the Thunder’s featured option on offense, OKC is undefeated when George scores 30 or more points in a game. Granted, 7-0 is a small sample size, but it’s worth trying to get the ball in PG13’s hands more often if it means a sure win.
As for the Sixers, Embiid scored 27 points brought down ten boards while Ben Simmons added 22 points to their total. Although their collective effort wasn’t enough to carry Philadelphia to victory on this night, when they’re clicking on all cylinders, it’s difficult to slow the Sixers offense down.
The 76ers will look to bounce back when they face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Monday. OKC has now won eight straight games and will look to keep the ball rolling as they take on the Washington Wizards on the road.
