Sixers ride big first half, Joel Embiid’s triple-double to win over Oklahoma City Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tyrese Maxey grinned as he broke into a little jig while greeting teammates coming off the floor for a fourth-quarter timeout.

His attire — a gray sweatsuit and red New Balance non-basketball sneakers — served as a reminder of what the 76ers were missing Saturday night against the Thunder. But his celebratory reaction to Matisse Thybulle’s third three-pointer of the night, which put the Sixers by 24 with about five minutes to play, illustrated how his team has often succeeded without at least one of its stars this season.

The Sixers rode the first-half onslaught — along with Joel Embiid’s triple-double (16 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) — to a 115-96 victory Saturday night at the Paycom Center in a game they played without Maxey and fellow starters James Harden and P.J. Tucker, who all rested various injuries.

“I’m just happy with how professional [we played],” coach Doc Rivers said. “Back-to-back. New Year’s Eve. This was a trap game in a lot of ways. [The Thunder] had the day off. We had guys missing. And we come out and play like that, that was terrific …

“It just says a lot about the team, the unselfishness. That’s a good thing moving forward.”

The Sixers (21-14) raced to a 33-point first-half lead by dominating on both ends of the floor. They held the Thunder to 37.2% from the floor, creating opportunities to get out in transition and downhill toward the basket. They connected on early three-pointers, which opened up seams to drive and create, and attacked a Thunder defense that pulled in on the pick and roll. The Sixers shot 55.1% from the field before the break, held a 32-16 rebounding edge and scored 40 points in the paint.

Oklahoma City later cut that deficit to 17 points multiple times in the second half, but never got closer than that. A Harris tip-in followed by Thybulle’s big three-pointer that sparked Maxey’s impromptu dance essentially sealed the win.

“Obviously, when you’re up like that and have that type of cushion, you can get a little relaxed,” Harris said. “But I thought everybody had great energy and just did a great job of fueling off of one another.”

Embiid reached his statistical benchmark for the first time this season — and the fifth time in his career — with two assists in about one minute of game action before checking out. When Harris was asked if he knew the three-pointer he launched with 4:06 to play would give Embiid 10 helpers, he acknowledged, “Yeah, I knew that.”

“Not to say that we sought that out, but we definitely did,” Harris said with a chuckle. “I knew that if I took a dribble off of that, he was going to scream at me. So I was like, “All right, I’m letting this go.”

Yet the Sixers’ overall effort was balanced and methodical.

Harris initially anchored the offense, making his first seven shots — while creating with the ball in his hands far more than when Harden and Maxey are on the floor — and finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. De’Anthony Melton also stuffed the box score with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.

The Sixers next face a three-game home stand against the New Orleans Pelicans (Monday), Indiana Pacers (Wednesday), and Chicago Bulls (Friday).

While playing in front of about 20 family and friends from his nearby hometown of Tulsa, Shake Milton looked sharp sliding back into the starting role he held while Harden and Maxey were out for much of November with foot injuries. He amassed 18 points, fueled by the attacking approach that makes him a dangerous bucket-getter, and added four rebounds and five assists.

He connected on four of his first six shots in the opening frame to help the Sixers build their big lead. And he helped squash a mini rally by the Thunder with a fastbreak layup off a turnover that pushed the Sixers’ advantage to 101-82 about midway through the fourth quarter.

“I feel comfortable,” said Milton, who added he initially had “no idea” Harden would not play Saturday. “I think that’s something that I can do, but also I feel like I can play any role the team needs in order to help the team win.

“Tonight, we had guys out, so I was able to step up and help my team a little bit. But playing with these guys, it’s really easy. Everybody’s unselfish, and when we play with the type of energy we played [with] tonight, we’re pretty good.”

With Milton and Thybulle moving into the starting lineup, Furkan Korkmaz (seven points, five rebounds) and Danuel House (eight points, five rebounds, three assists) also returned to the rotation Saturday night.

The Sixers’ 38-point first quarter set the tone for the blowout.

They made their first six shots, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Harris that put the Sixers up, 16-4. That advantage stretched to 20 points, at 34-14, on a Melton coast-to-coast rebound and driving finish. Harris went 4-for-4 in the first 12 minutes for 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

In the period, the Sixers held Oklahoma City to 8-of-20 from the floor and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.

That lead ballooned to 29 points on a tough Harris finish off the glass, to 31 on an Embiid dunk, and to 33 on a three-pointer by House late in the second quarter.

Embiid’s 16 points was a relatively tame output by his standards, after the NBA’s leading scorer had finished with at least 35 points in his previous four outings.

But that point total did push Embiid past Andre Iguodala (9,422) for ninth on the Sixers’ all-time scoring list with 9,431. Up next are Mo Cheeks (10,429 points), Johnny Kerr (11,699), Billy Cunningham (13,626), and Charles Barkley (14,184).