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Oklahoma City Thunder beat Philadelphia 76ers 117-115 in a thrilling game at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Two-way superstars Paul George and Jimmy Butler had indifferent games until the final few minutes, when both came up big for their teams.
Butler got a steal and bucket to put the Sixers ahead, before George hit a remarkable three-pointer over Butler. Butler got another go to win it for Philadelphia, but he was swamped by good Thunder defence, meaning George’s shot was the game-winner.
The main talking point of the night, in typical NBA fashion, was Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook’s post-game comments. Westbrook said “F*ck no” when asked if and Embiid are ‘cool’.
Embiid said, “I don’t know why he was mad … but he’s always in his feelings.” As reported by Tim Bontemps.
The pair have history. Westbrook waved at Embiid when Oklahoma City won this matchup last season, and the Philadelphia centre gave a stare down when he dunked on the Thunder point guard.
The rivalry flared up this time when Embiid clattered Westbrook on a fast break after one of many Sixers turnovers. Embiid chased the former-MVP down and was leaping to go for a block when Westbrook stopped and ducked. Embiid then smashed into him, causing Westbrook to be left on the floor.
After writhing in pain for a few seconds, Westbrook leapt up to confront Embiid, and had to be pulled away by teammates. He later fouled out of the game, meaning he was not on the court for the late drama.
It was the cherry on top of an entertaining game. Physicality ruled over perimeter shooting, which is a nod to the two teams’ respective strengths and weaknesses.
Everything about it felt like a postseason game. The Philadelphia crowd got into it after the Embiid-Westbrook episode, and every ‘star’ on the court had their moment in the spotlight.
The only negative from Saturday’s epic is that we won’t get to see a postseason series between the Thunder and Sixers.
