Game Recap: Thunder 84, 76ers 81
Juan Carlos Blanco, RotoWire
LAS VEGAS — The Oklahoma City Thunder redeemed itself after blowing a sizable second-half lead and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime, 84-81, at Cox Pavilion in a Las Vegas Summer League matchup Monday afternoon.
Two disparately different halves began with the Thunder (1-1) parlaying a 27-11 first-quarter advantage into a 52-26 halftime lead. The 76ers (1-2) then turned the tables over the final 20 minutes of regulation by forging a 55-29 advantage to send the game into overtime.
Philadelphia outscored OKC by a 28-13 margin in the third quarter and finally drew even with the Thunder at the 2:21 mark of the fourth quarter before ultimately forcing overtime on a Matisse Thybulle layup with 10 seconds remaining. Both teams played suffocating defense in the extra period, with the only points coming on a Luguentz Dort layup and Jawan Evans free throw for OKC.
Kevin Hervey led the Thunder with a 17-point, 17-rebound double-double that also included three assists, three steals and two blocks. Dort followed with a bench-leading 15 points and also supplied three rebounds. Hamidou Diallo tallied 14 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block. Devon Hall registered 10 points, three assists and two steals. First-round pick Darius Bazley was held scoreless over 17 minutes in his debut but added three assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block.
Zhaire Smith paced the 76ers with 18 points, adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Thybulle turned in 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals. Shake Milton and Jalen Jones posted matching five-point tallies. Zach Hankins and P.J. Dozier co-led the second unit with nine points apiece and added six and four rebounds, respectively.
The Thunder returns to action Tuesday against Croatia, while the 76ers do battle with the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday afternoon.
