The Philadelphia 76ers (11-5) emerged from their Thanksgiving break to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-5). The Sixers met one of the up-and-coming teams in the NBA with a strong performance, winning by a final score of 127-123.

Let’s break down the Sixers' win over the Thunder.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 35 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 blocks, 8-18 FG shooting

Back in the starting lineup after his first absence of the season, Embiid went right back to dominating on both ends of the floor. He made some great rotations to block shots and had another brilliant display of playmaking. With the exception of making a triple, he did everything for Philly.

Embiid's ability to read the defense made him impossible to stop for the Thunder despite their assortment of tough, long defenders. He still committed a handful of turnovers but was nonetheless very good at making plays. Down the stretch, when a single miss from the foul line could have spelled doom, he sunk every single shot. How many players — let alone bigs — can shoot 19-21 from the free-throw line?

Tyrese Maxey: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-17 FG shooting

Maxey seems to have hit a wall since his 50-burger, shooting 39 percent from the field across the six following games. In this game, he stayed aggressive the whole way through, especially in the fourth quarter. He helped his less-than-stellar shooting efficiency of games past by drawing a bunch of fouls, resulting in the most free throws since that game.

Thunder player notes:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 31 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 10-21 FG shooting

SGA continues to be one of the shiftiest players in the league, using step-back dribbles and step-throughs to keep his defenders off balance. His herky-jerky style of opening up lanes and drawing fouls paired with how easily he rises up for jumpers makes him so tough to slow down. The Sixers found a way to do so in the second half, however, allowing them to pull away with the win.

Chet Holmgren: 33 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 13-21 FG shooting

One of the favorites for Rookie of the Year, Holmgren possesses a dazzling display of skills that guys as big as him rarely do on top of being an attentive shot-blocker and rebounder. While he still doesn’t have the size to match up with the biggest giants like Embiid, that’s a fine weakness to have when you can shoot and move as fluidly as him.

Game recap:

1st half

The Thunder decided Josh Giddey could play despite some extremely serious and disgusting allegations of him having an inappropriate relationship with a teenager. Giddey saying he had no comment when asked about the allegations yesterday does not help his case at all but, as Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault explained before the game, the team feels comfortable having him continue to play based on the information it has right now.

The Thunder were also without standout second-year forward Jalen Williams, replacing him in the starting lineup with rookie Cason Wallace. Lu Dort guarded Maxey while Holmgren matched up with Embiid, who immediately used his size advantage to score. Nicolas Batum nailed a moving three, scored on a putback and ran the 2-on-1 fast break to perfection with Tobias Harris, assisting him on a layup to boost Philly's fast start.

The Sixers put Batum on SGA. Embiid guarded Holmgren, who weaponized his greatest advantage against Embiid — his jumper — and lagged behind the offense to serve as a trailer, getting good looks on a pair of triples, cashing in one of them. OKC shot the ball well to start but Philly's size advantage paid off, earning extra possessions via offensive boards and trips to the foul line. The Sixers also blocked five shots in the first quarter.

The Thunder needed to switch defensive game plans very early in the game, bringing in Jaylin Wiliams and having Holmgren roam. Embiid didn’t stray from the game plan of bodying up whoever was in front of him. Williams picked up a pair of early fouls but also drained two threes in his first stint.

Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris Sr. were the Sixers' first subs. Maxey came out for PatBev but then came back in for De’Anthony Melton as Robert Covington came in for Batum. Typically, he sits the final six-or-so minutes of the first quarter and then plays the whole second quarter. Philly allowed a 10-0 run in that stretch — definitely not what Nick Nurse wanted when he tried to steal some minutes with his stars on the court together.

Maxey still played at the start of the second quarter as the Sixers ruled out Jaden Springer mid-game due to an illness. The long-armed OKC defense made life tough on Maxey but he did not shy away, busting out tough shots and aggressive drives. Giddey kept the Thunder ahead, driving an up-tempo pace and orchestrating the offense.

Embiid gave the Thunder lots of trouble at the rim on both ends. He swatted Williams on a layup on one end then tipped the offensive board out to Melton for a go-ahead three. Gilgeous-Alexander, not to be outdone, scored on a one-footed jumper off the backboard just to beat the shot clock. He then drew a shooting foul on Maxey, his third of the half. The two superstars were in their bags in this one.

The Sixers led 65-61 at the break.

2nd half

The Thunder started Williams over Wallace to start the half, indicating they were not wasting any more time with Holmgren on Embiid. The rookie guarded Batum, which was still no simple matching given how well he can shoot. Williams and Holmgren linked up for three bucks to start the half as Maxey picked up his fourth foul, which sent Giddey to the charity stripe. Embiid was then called for a charge.

Embiid took a hard fall going up for a shot and came up limping after rolling his ankle on the way down but continued to play. The Thunder picked Philly apart on offense, running and gunning in the fast break and staying in constant motion. Holmgren had 12 points of his own. The Sixers kept at it, though, with Embiid and Maxey coming through.

The Sixers started to pull away as Embiid continued to dominate and approach triple-double territory. They went up by as much as 13 points and took an 11-point advantage into the final frame. Holding Gilgeous-Alexander to just two points on 1-7 shooting in the third quarter was key.

OKC didn’t go away easily, bringing its defense up higher to get the ball out of Maxey's hands. The Sixers star met the increased intensity with more of his own, staying aggressive and finding ways to score. Patrick Beverley also stepped up and played perhaps his best game of the season. His shot looked good and attacked closeouts from defenders well, including on an assist to Paul Reed for a corner triple.

The Sixers didn’t let up when Embiid came back in, crashing the glass very well as the Thunder learned the lessons of boxing out the hard way. The Thunder chipped away at the deficit, getting it back into single digits with under four minutes left. Gilgeous-Alexander kept the pressure on as OKC deployed Davis Bertans to get him some extra spacing. He gave Maxey his fifth foul as he tacked on two more points.

Leading by just four with just over 90 seconds left, Melton hit a huge triple off of a feed from Harris. A questionable shooting foul from Embiid committed against SGA was overturned thanks to a challenge from Nurse. Embiid took another tumble that messed up his ankle but he was again able to get right up. The Sixers took a nine-point lead before the Thunder had to resort to fouls.

Nothing against a team this good is easy, though. The Thunder fought until the end and let the game get down to single-possession scraps. They scored at will but had to resort to fouling and Embiid took care of business.

Random Rumblings:

  • Bill Kennedy is still the GOAT at announcing review decisions. He has unparalleled poise and a firm, consistent cadence in his calls.

The Sixers will face the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night in South Philly.