Field Level Media
Nov 15, 2019
Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points and Chris Paul added 27 as the Oklahoma City Thunder ended a two-game losing streak with a 127-119 overtime victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
Gallinari scored five points in the Thunder's 12-4 run to open the extra period, helping Oklahoma City win for just the second time in its past five games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 points for the Thunder.
Joel Embiid contributed 31 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the court, and Josh Richardson added a season-high 28 for Philadelphia. The Sixers lost their second in a row and fell for the fifth time in seven games, as their road losing streak reached five games.
Embiid missed Philadelphia's Wednesday defeat at Orlando as part of his load-management program. He came back to shoot 12 of 24 from the field.
Terrance Ferguson scored 19 points for the Thunder while knocking down five 3-pointers, who won despite getting outrebounded 43-36.
Ben Simmons had 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Sixers, while Tobias Harris added 21 points before he fouled out. Richardson, who is a native of nearby Edmond, Okla., nearly doubled his 14.2 points-per-game average in his return home.
The Sixers trailed by seven with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter before going on an 18-8 run to take an 83-80 lead into the final period.
The Sixers had a 94-85 edge with 7:20 remaining, but the Thunder forged back in front 97-96 with 3:32 to play on a layup by Gilgeous-Alexander. The basket capped a 12-2 run for Oklahoma City.
Embiid and Gallinari each had a shot in the closing seconds of regulation to give their teams the lead but could not convert, and the game went into overtime tied 107-107.
Gallinari went 11 of 11 from the free-throw line and Paul went 12 of 12 for the Thunder, who took 41 foul shots to the Sixers' 22.
Oklahoma City improved to 5-3 at home. The Thunder have not won on the road yet this season, losing all four times.
The Sixers last won on the road Nov. 2 when they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers to improve to 5-0 on the season. They proceeded to lose their next three games after that victory.
--Field Level Media