Sixers suffer another tank-friendly loss in 133-100 setback against the Thunder

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 19, 2025

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OKLAHOMA CITY — If you have studied the Philadelphia 76ers’ recent lineups and looked at their talent level, there’s only one conclusion you can possibly make: The Sixers transformed themselves into a team built to lose.

And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The makeshift Sixers were dominated from the start in a 133-100 setback at the Paycom Center. The Thunder scored the game’s first 10 points and had a commanding 41-point cushion in the fourth quarter.

The tank-friendly loss dropped the Sixers to 23-46 and, once again, into a fifth-place tie with Brooklyn Nets with 13 games remaining for the NBA’s worst record. The Thunder, meanwhile, improved to 57-12 and clinched the Western Conference No. 1 seed in the postseason.

The Sixers ironically faced the team that’s a major reason behind their tanking. Oklahoma City will receive the Sixers’ first-round pick in June’s NBA draft if it doesn’t fall within the top six spot in May’s draft lottery.

Should the Sixers finish with the fifth-worst record, they will have a 63.9% chance of keeping that pick. Finishing among the bottom four teams will only increase their odds.

Tyrese Maxey (back and finger sprain), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management), Kelly Oubre Jr. (right knee sprain) and Lonnie Walker IV (concussion) remained sidelined.

Meanwhile, Joel Embiid (left knee injury management), Paul George (left groin injury recovery), Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery) and Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery) are all shut down for the remainder of the season.

So this was, once again, a Quentin Grimes showcase game. The combo guard finished with 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting after averaging 32.6 points in his previous five games.

Justin Edwards added 19 points while 10-day player Chuma Okeke had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Grimes and Edwards were joined in the starting lineup by Guerschon Yabusele, Jared Butler and Oshae Brissett, who is on a 10-day contract. Ricky Council IV, Okeke, and two-way players Alex Reese and Jalen Hood-Schifino were the other available players. Jeff Dowtin Jr., another two-way player, was inactive due to having a limited amount of allowable NBA games remaining.

But the Thunder were without eight players, including starters Lu Dort (right hip soreness), Isaiah Hartenstein (lower back spasms) and All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest) and Jalen Williams (right hip strain).

Aaron Wiggins paced the Thunder with 26 points. Jaylin Williams had a triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Former Sixer Isaiah Joe added 21 points while making five 3-pointers.

Up Next

The Sixers travel to San Antonio to face Spurs on Friday. San Antonio defeated the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.