76ers at Thunder
Two teams with NBA Finals aspirations meet when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, though neither team is at the top of its respective game at the moment. The Thunder will be trying to avoid a third consecutive setback while the 76ers again operate shorthanded on the inside.
Oklahoma City had a chance to make a move at second-place Denver on Tuesday but instead dropped a 121-112 decision and fell four games behind the Nuggets in the standings. "We had some things that we were able to control that we didn’t do a good enough job (of) and that part of it was disappointing because the guys, I thought, battled and worked so hard to get back in the game to give ourselves a chance," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "But those were things that were self-inflicted, so to speak, that we kind of put on ourselves." Philadelphia will again be without All-Star center Joel Embiid on Thursday and is also expected to be missing backup center Boban Marjanovic, both due to knee injuries. Embiid has been out since the All-Star break while Marjanovic was injured late in Monday's 111-110 win at New Orleans.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE 76ERS (39-22): Philadelphia dropped its last 19 games against Oklahoma City, including a 119-117 home loss on Jan. 17 in which Thunder forward Paul George completed a four-point play with 5.1 seconds left. "We've lost some heartbreakers to them," 76ers coach Brett Brown told reporters. "Historically, they have been really skilled and good when we really weren't, so I think that 19 number is very much inflated because of some previous years." Philadelphia will try to make up for its disadvantage in the middle by crashing the glass from the wings, and both Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons are coming off double-doubles against the Pelicans.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (38-22): Oklahoma City won its first game after the All-Star break in double-overtime over the Utah Jazz but fell to the Sacramento Kings by three points the following night and fell short at Denver despite another strong effort from George. The All-Star forward collected 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals in the loss but is 11-of-43 from the floor over the last two contests. Fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook is averaging 35.3 points on 52.1 percent shooting and 13 rebounds in three games since the break.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder PG Dennis Schroder is 3-of-19 from 3-point range over the last three games.
2. 76ers PF Mike Scott is 7-of-9 from beyond the arc over the last two contests.
3. Oklahoma's winning streak over Philadelphia is the longest active streak for one opponent over another in the NBA.