CRUNCH TIME COLLAPSE
PG's value on full display in loss to 76ers
The Paul George MVP campaign picked up steam Thursday night. The same can't be said for the Thunder.
Playing without George, the Thunder slump continued. The Philadelphia 76ers, who hadn't beaten the Thunder since the Bush Administration, got out of town with a 108-104 victory in a game missing two superstars.
The Sixers missed Joel Embiid mightily. The Thunder missed George more. Nursing a sore shoulder, apparently suffered Tuesday night in Denver, George sat out this one, and the Thunder looked lost without him.
The offense was mostly reduced to straight drives by Russell Westbrook, Jerami Grant or Dennis Schroder. The defense was mismatched much of the night. Only in the fourth quarter, seemingly out of desperation, did the defense stiffen.
The Thunder played uphill all night. Never had the lead and the ball. Never had the lead period after the first few minutes. Trailed by as many 16 points but clawed back into contention repeatedly in the second half. Five times cut the Sixers' lead to two points, but only the last time did the Thunder get a stop on Philly's subsequent possession.
And when that finally happened, and a Westbrook drive tied the game at 93-93, the Thunder went five straight possessions without scoring, and the Sixers took a 103-93 lead.
George's value was on full display.
The Thunder made just eight of 27 3-point shots, and the lack of floor spacing meant OKC failed to cash in on its big advantage in the post. Steven Adams got just nine shots, three via offensive rebounds, and three trips to the foul line, where he made just three of six.
“One of the things we did not do in the mixing and matching part of it … I didn't feel we got him the ball enough,” Billy Donovan said of Adams. “He didn't get enough shots early. I thought in the second half we established him more.”
Not really; four firsthalf and two trips to the foul line, five second-half shots and one trip to the foul line. And Adams missed two dunks.
Sometimes it's not your night.
The Thunder's lack of wing depth meant that players like Grant, Abdel Nader and Raymond Felton were chasing around the likes of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Not ideal. Those two Sixers, both obtained in trades since the season's start, combined for 52 points on 20 of 39 shooting.
Donovan tried most everything. The Thunder started big, with Markieff Morris alongside Grant. That didn't work at all, and Donovan quickly bailed on it. Schroder started the second half and the Thunder played mostly small in the second half, to better reviews.
“We didn't really get a chance to practice much with that big lineup there,” Donovan said. “We got a chance in shootaround to work on some things. With Paul being out, a guy who
absorbs as many minutes as he does, everybody was probably out of sorts a little bit in terms of rotations. That was challenging. But listen, you're not always going to be healthy.”
Or hot. The Thunder now has lost four of five after winning 10 of 11. Seems like yesterday the Thunder was challenging the Nuggets for second place in the West. Now the Blazers have caught the Thunder for third, and a rough stretch of the schedule awaits.
Hurry back, Paul George. Your value has been established. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-7608080 or at btramel@ oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok. com/berrytramel.