The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Philadelphia 76ers held off a late charge from the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder to add another win to their record.
Philadelphia defeated Oklahoma City 127-123 on the road in the 2023-2024 NBA regular season at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., on Monday (Feb. 26).
Philadelphia and Oklahoma City were neck-and-neck until the end of the fourth quarter with Joel Embiid and Chet Holmgren trading baskets, but it was Philadelphia who had the last laugh.
With an 11-5 record, Philadelphia sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Oklahoma City, on the other hand, fought back in the fourth quarter but fell short.
Oklahoma City is in second place in the Western Conference (11-5).
Philadelphia was led by a combined 63 points from Embiid and Tyreese Maxey (28 points, 8 rebounds).
Embiid, in particular, had a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
With Oklahoma struggling to find the rim early in the first quarter, Philadelphia jumped out to an early lead on an easy layup by Embiid.
However, Oklahoma battled back with a three-pointer from Isaiah Joe and went into the first quarter with a 31-29 lead.
Philadelphia took control of the second and third quarters.
Philadelphia scored the first points of the second quarter on a Maxi three-pointer that sparked a 12-point run, and then regained the lead on a DeAndre’Anthony Melton three.
In the third quarter, which began with Philadelphia leading 65-61, Oklahoma City battled back, starting with a three from Holmgren, who scored 12 points in the third quarter alone.
But Philadelphia quickly turned the tide with nine straight points from Embiid and Maxi, extending the lead to 13 at one point.
Entering the final quarter with Philadelphia leading 93-82, Embiid appeared to have the game won when he hit a mid-range jumper to make it 112-99 with 5:45 left to play.
But Oklahoma City scored nine unanswered points, including a three-pointer by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 4:36 to play, to put Philadelphia on the ropes.
With 11 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma pulled to within three on a dunk by Holmgren, but Philadelphia’s Embiid made two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to pull away again.
The teams went back and forth, with Holmgren’s three with 5.1 seconds left and Embiid’s two free throws with 3.1 seconds left both hitting the rim.
Holmgren dunked on the rim with 2.1 seconds left and Embiid hit both free throws with 1.1 seconds left to make it a 127-123 game.
Oklahoma City was led by Holmgren with 33 points and Gilgeous Alexander with 31, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss. 사설토토
[NBA scores for the 26th]
Philadelphia 127-123 Oklahoma
Brooklyn 112-97
Atlanta 136-108 Washington
Lakers 121-115 Cleveland
Utah 105-100 New Orleans
Clippers 107-85 Dallas