Joel Embiid had 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 127-123 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Tyrese Maxey added 28 points for the 76ers.
Embiid returned after missing Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota with hip soreness, helping the 76ers snap a two-game losing streak and end the Thunder’s six-game winning streak.
Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 33 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31. Holmgren hit five 3-pointers.
The 76ers led by 13 with less than six minutes left, but Oklahoma City scored nine consecutive points, six by Gilgeous-Alexander, to pull within four with 1:37 remaining.
But Embiid hit two free throws and then De’Anthony Melton buried a corner three to extend the lead once again and Philadelphia looked like it was in control.
But Holmgren drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two with 5.4 seconds to play before Embiid hit two free throws on the other end to seal the win.
Embiid was 19 of 21 at the free-throw line.
The Thunder finished with just four turnovers, their fewest in a game since 2019-20.
The Thunder led by four with just less than eight minutes remaining in the third but Philadelphia outscored Oklahoma City 22-7 to end the quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth.
The Thunder shot just 3 for 19 from the floor in that stretch, missing 11 consecutive shots as the 76ers took control.
Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey played one day after the NBA confirmed it had opened an investigation into an online allegation that Giddey had had an improper relationship with a minor.
Before the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the decision was in the NBA’s hands.
Giddey scored 10 points in 26 minutes.
The 76ers jumped out to a quick double-digit lead, 16-5, in the first four minutes, making six of their first eight shots with six points from Embiid in the stretch.
The Thunder hit just two of their first eight shots.
Later in the quarter, Oklahoma City ripped off a 15-1 run as Philadelphia missed seven consecutive shots.
–Field Level Media
