The Philadelphia 76ers snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder's six-game winning streak in a hard-fought matchup. The Sixers looked rejuvenated from a few days off and defeated one of the best teams the NBA has to offer at the moment.

Joel Embiid had perhaps his most complete game of the season with 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks while Tyrese Maxey had 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists. The Sixers have arguably the best duo in the league right now but the Thunder will be challenging them for that label with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. The former dropped 31 points, six rebounds and five assists while the latter tallied 33 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Both star tandems flaunted their talent as a tight game that became a blowout that became a tight game again. Let's dive into the film.

5. Inbounding ingenious 

Early in the second quarter, Nurse dialed up an inbound play that helped free up Maxey for a triple.

The Sixers go with a classic screen-the-screener set with Maxey setting a screen for Marcus Morris Sr. to open up a cut right to the hoop while Paul Reed screens for Maxey as he darts to the corner. But the shot isn’t going to be an open one because of the smarts from rookie Cason Wallace.

The Thunder traded up to draft Wallace because of his bulldog-like defensive game. He's very tough on that end of the floor, as he showed early in the game when he came away with a steal on Embiid. On this play, he's right on Maxey's hip and takes a different angle around the screen to meet him at the spot better. He ducks under Reed and darts to the corner and gets a pretty decent contest on a tough, moving shot on his fellow University of Kentucky product.

Even with Wallace reading the play perfectly, Maxey's offense is better than his defense. His footwork as he approaches the corner is clean. The swing from his legs back in the opposite direction counteracts the momentum going to his left and he nails the triple.

4. Roam on the range

Embiid forced the Thunder to abandon their original game plan almost immediately by showing how easily he could move Holmgren around. Although it wasn’t like his game against the Indiana Pacers where he drew fouls at will, he got deep seals on Holmgren without breaking much of a sweat. Mark Daigneault immediately changed course and went with Jaylin Williams as Embiid's main defender for most of the rest of the game.

Williams is undersized by roughly three inches of height and 40 pounds of weight against Embiid but he fought as hard as he could. Holmgren was used away from Embiid in a role that will suit him very well throughout his career: roaming. Holmgren's long arms and defensive instincts will make him a monster in that role, as shown in one of his very best sequences of the game.

Here, Embiid is looking for the ball in the post rather than trying to fight with Williams deep in the paint. As he gets the catch, Holmgren comes over to double. His ridiculously long arms cut off a lot of his visibility and passing windows. Embiid's pass — which Holmgren is close to tipping — is off target, resulting in a Thunder takeaway.

3. PatBev to Bball Paul

This play right here is one that the Sixers would love to subscribe to.

The charm of Patrick Beverley's energy and love for Philly is running thin as his impact on the Sixers wanes. Most nights off the bench, he isn’t able to give them much besides a few hustle plays here and there. This performance is far and away his best with the Sixers. Not only did he play well but it came in a tight game against a good team.

Beverley made his first triple in nearly two weeks and baited the Thunder defense into respecting his shot with hard pump fakes. He used it to open up a floater early on and did it again to open a driving lane. Kenrich Williams slides over and PatBev swings it right to Reed in the corner.

Reed gets the reward for the advantage Beverley creates with an open corner triple that he drills.

2. The perfect storm

The bounce pass behind the back has become a staple in the repertoires of modern guards everywhere as the pick-and-pop becomes a weapon of choice. Maxey has worked on it as he and Embiid grow their chemistry. The budding OKC duo is showing to have it down pat.

Late in the first half, SGA drove right as Holmgren set up a flat screen, which is when a player's back is flat (or parallel) with the baseline. Because his angle is neutral, there's no hint as to which side the guard is going to use. The big can also flip the screen late and open up the floor the other way by making the on-ball defender work through two screens. Philly is playing this screen hard on SGA's right so Holmgren makes the smart call to stretch the defense out.

Holmgren drifts out behind the arc as Gilgeous-Alexander dishes it behind his back. He does a good job of flipping his wrist in an instant, which keeps Embiid and Nicolas Batum over his way because it looks like he's still in position to make at least one more dribble. Just as Embiid drops his hand off of Holmgren's back and slides over with SGA, the pass goes to Holmgren, whose footwork is smooth as he backs into an open shot and fires away with confidence.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren complement each other extremely well. Having a guard who can navigate any defense with smooth, precise footwork and handles paired with a big man who is nimble enough to sky for lobs and shoot movement threes leads to some beautiful basketball.

1. Sorry, old friend

The frustrations from Sixers fans about the team's decision to waive Isaiah Joe before last season have seemingly died down since the current team is playing so well and boasting impressive depth. The young guard is still a sniper and seems to have found a nice home with OKC. Embiid said hello to his former teammate by putting him in the blender with his playmaking.

Here, Embiid fakes the handoff with Tobias Harris and charges down the lane. He drops his left shoulder as if he's going to back down Williams. But just as he turns his back, he sees a two-on-one with Maxey and De'Anthony Melton in the corner and Joe splitting the difference. Gilgeous-Alexander sliding over to take away the path to the basket on his right side opened up a passing lane for him to manipulate.

As Embiid lets the pass go, Joe turns the opposite way because Embiid's movements — the way he's looking and the angle at which his arm throws the pass — suggest he's throwing to Melton. Maxey gets a wide-open triple as a result.