The Oklahoma City Thunder survived their first game after Andre Roberson’s season-ending injury to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 122-112, Sunday night.
Steven Adams makes a Big 4 for the Thunder, and 8 other things from Sunday
Give Adams some respect!
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
The Thunder had played 10 games without their best defender earlier in the season, and hadn’t fared well, going 5-5. Opposing wings tore them up. But against Philly, things went as well as they could have.
Sixers wings Robert Covington and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot were held to 17 points combined on 5-of-21 shooting. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid got theirs (49 points on 30 shots), but thanks to Paul George and Jerami Grant, they were the only Sixers in rhythm. That took pressure off OKC.
On the offensive end, Steven Adams proved he is one of the best big men in the league, and deserves as much of a superstar label as George, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony. Ten of his 13 rebounds were offensive, and he finished with 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting. He’s become one of if not the top target for Westbrook, and that’s what’s helped the Thunder on this now eight-game winning streak.
Westbrook finished with 37 points on 33 shots (20! came in the first half), and he nearly triple-doubled with 14 assists and nine rebounds.
The Thunder are holding on — for now.
Westbrook stared down Embiid as the final seconds ticked off the clock
Embiid dunked ALL OVER Westbrook in the opening half of Sunday’s game, as a little bit of revenge from the last time they met.
But Westbrook got the last laugh from this one, as he stared down Embiid as the game ended.
Kings coach David Joerger had a scary moment
Joerger dropped to the floor in the first quarter in what the team described as lightheadedness.
He did not return to coach the game, but is OK according to an ESPN report.
Dwane Casey will coach Team LeBron
With a win over the Lakers, the Raptors clinched enough wins for Casey to lead Team LeBron at the NBA All-Star Game. He’s the first Raptors’ coach to ever receive all-star honors.
The Cavs won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 17
Maybe there’s something to head coach Ty Lue’s starting lineup change in which he flipped Jae Crowder for Tristan Thompson as a starter. A 121-104 win on Sunday gave Cleveland its first back-to-back wins in over a month.
Thompson had nine points and four rebounds, while Crowder had 12 points on six shots for the Cavs in their new roles. LeBron James led the way with 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. Kevin Love had 20 points on 14 shots and 11 rebounds.
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Scores
Bucks 110, Bulls 96 (Brew Hoop recap | Blog a Bull recap)
Rockets 113, Suns 102 (The Dream Shake recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
Clippers 112, Pelicans 103 (Clips Nation recap | The Bird Writes recap)
Cavaliers 121, Pistons 104 (Fear the Sword recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Raptors 123, Lakers 111 (Raptors HQ recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)
Thunder 122, Sixers 112 (WTLC recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Spurs 113, Kings 98 (Pounding the Rock recap | Sactown Royalty recap)
Antetokounmpo’s game is so complete he doesn’t need a jump shot
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