December 28, 2025
Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images
Tyrese Maxey bounced back against Oklahoma City's historically great defense on Sunday, but the Sixers were going to need much more than that to beat the defending champions.
A piece of advice for any members of NBA teams reading this: do your best to avoid facing the Thunder in Oklahoma City when the defending champions need to make a statement.
As the Sixers took the floor on Sunday afternoon for the second contest of their season-long five-game road trip, they had their hands full. Because amid the first true slump experienced by the juggernaut Thunder since the 2023-24 season, Oklahoma City looked focused on getting back on track.
With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers staged a valiant effort, keeping close with Oklahoma City for the entire first half before predictably falling victim to the Thunder's greatness and determination. They had some encouraging individual performances, but did not have the manpower to keep up with what remains one of the greatest teams of this era of NBA basketball.
For the first time in the 2025-26 season, the Sixers have dropped three consecutive games. Takeaways from their 129-104 loss in Oklahoma City:
After Maxey's pair of (relatively) dreadful showings across the Sixers' back-to-back losses entering this game, it was only a matter of time until the sixth-year star guard found his form again. And even Oklahoma City's all-time defense can give up great performances. At full health, the Thunder brought Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso off the bench, and as tremendous of a defender as Lu Dort is, his foot speed is a far cry from what Maxey is working with.
By the time an action-packed first quarter had come to a close, Maxey had 17 points to his name on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. But he also notched three steals, leading a strong defensive response after the Thunder totaled 14 points in the opening four minutes of the game.
Tyrese Maxey vs OKC ™️ pic.twitter.com/SyzdbZO4lj
— 𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐦 (@LatamSixers) December 28, 2025
In the first half, Maxey went bucket-for-bucket with reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, scoring 22 points on 8-for-10 prior to intermission. His most marvelous bucket was one near the end of the first quarter in which he lost control of the ball on his way up for a layup, then somehow willed the ball through the net:
Tyrese Maxey with a magical finish at the rim 🪄
— NBA (@NBA) December 28, 2025
He dropped 15 in Q1!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/pooMYhA6fI pic.twitter.com/Vu74f8AYw7
Unfortunately for Maxey, games against Oklahoma City are typically wars of attrition, and the Sixers predictably did not have enough manpower to keep up after a surprisingly competitive first half. Their troubles in third quarters reemerged on Sunday, with Gilgeous-Alexander leading a methodical two-way Thunder surge that put the Sixers on the ropes before the knockout blow arrived in the final frame.
Maxey got back on track against the NBA's best defensive team, and perhaps that in itself is a symbolic victory. But the Sixers will have to settle for those, because the Thunder notched the actual victory in this one.
MORE: Is Embiid holding Maxey back?
One of the most challenging aspects of playing a team as good as the Thunder: certain players are just disqualified from being trusted with minutes. Any player incapable of providing some sort of offensive value will be taken advantage of. Any player too slow to keep up will be run off the floor. Any player who is a clear weak link on defense will be exposed.
When the struggling Quentin Grimes found himself in early foul trouble on Sunday, Sixers head coach Nurse had to expand his rotation to its usual nine players. Instead of summoning Jabari Walker, he called upon Justin Edwards in hopes of maintaining perimeter defensive versatility. Oklahoma City's regular rotation did not have any traditional power forwards, so there was not much of a spot for Walker. But Edwards really hung in there, giving the Sixers viable perimeter defense across multiple positions and draining three triples on as many tries in the second quarter, including a long pull-up shot over an elite defender in Jalen Williams:
Edwards is on a heater! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZPg2r4THjA
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 28, 2025
After replacing Grimes, not only did Edwards give the Sixers quality minutes, but he gave them length. When depth becomes an issue, a reserve like Edwards turning in a prolonged stretch of quality minutes is a huge relief, like a multi-inning relief pitcher saving a tired bullpen in baseball. Edwards played the final 10 minutes and 17 seconds of the half, with the Sixers outscoring Oklahoma City by six points during that stretch.
In Chicago on Thursday, Nurse got much better minutes from Adem Bona in the second half than he did from Andre Drummond in the first half. But with Embiid sidelined, the Sixers needed both of their backup bigs on Sunday. Drummond started for the sake of continuity, but once Bona checked into the game midway through the first quarter he really got the ball rolling.
Bona's first-half stint lasted exactly 12 minutes, and he scored eight points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field – a pair of two-handed slams – plus a 4-for-4 line on free throws. His lone missed shot was an attempted poster dunk over Isaiah Hartenstein, and immediately after failing to complete the play Bona responded by emphatically swatting Hartenstein at the rim, springing the Sixers in transition and netting Edwards' second triple:
Adem Bona block ➡️ VJ Edgecombe assist ➡️ Justin Edwards triple pic.twitter.com/ZvDn8uWpTt
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) December 28, 2025
Just as important as all of the standout plays, Bona avoided foul trouble entirely in this game. Bona replaced Drummond very early on in the second half once Oklahoma City got rolling, but there was nothing Bona could do to prevent the Thunder from storming.
While Drummond has had a firm grasp on the primary backup center job for several weeks, the 22-year-old Bona has made a very compelling case over the last week and change that he deserves consideration to leapfrog the veteran. His mobility is on its own a difference-maker relative to the immobility of Embiid and Drummond.
A pair of additional notes:
• Considering Oklahoma City made its first nine shots to begin this game, it is somewhat miraculous that the Sixers did not let go of the rope right away and end up on the wrong side of a wire-to-wire blowout. But even during that span, the Sixers worked hard defensively, forcing six turnovers in the opening minutes of the game. That included those three steals from Maxey.
• An update on Embiid, courtesy of Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reporting from Oklahoma City:
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Joel Embiid is day-to-day with the sprained right ankle. He added that the ankle, not the right-knee injurymanagement, is the reason the center will miss today's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) December 28, 2025
Up next: The Sixers' five-game road trip will reach its midpoint on Tuesday when the team takes on the Memphis Grizzlies.
