By The Associated Press’s Dan Gelston

The city of Philadelphia The 76ers’ season-long tagline, “Made for This,” was full of aspirations for a championship.

When an injury report was announced, the first boos in the arena were audible as long as the big-screen movie’s ending titles were shown.A more irritated saying was in mind for Sixers fans.

Did We Pay for This?

Joel Embiid is out once more.

Not tonight, Paul George.

I apologize, Tyrese Maxey. My hand stung.

The Sixers’ players who started or played important roles at some time this season—Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, KJ Martin, Andre Drummond, and Jared McCain—did not play in Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City.

The outcome was as expected: Thunder 118, 76ers 102.

Indeed, the Thunder, under the leadership of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are 33-6 and will be difficult to beat on any given night.

These days, the 76ers are having problems on most game nights because to their high injury reports. At 15-23, the Sixers are closer to a draft lottery berth than postseason action after starting 3-14, losing three in a row, and losing six of eight games.

Perhaps A.J. Brown could recommend a decent book to keep you occupied during Sixers games.

On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, in Philadelphia, Guerschon Yabusele, right, of the Philadelphia 76ers, dunks past Isaiah Hartenstein of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of an NBA basketball game. (Photo by Matt Slocum/AP)

The Knicks’ visit to town on Wednesday and their upcoming three-game road trip, which includes stops in Indiana, Milwaukee, and Denver, might make the season worse. Each of those teams has a successful record.

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What about returning home with a gentle landing? Well, try going on a date with Cleveland on January 24.

During Sunday’s defeat at Orlando, Maxey damaged his left hand. George’s ankles hurt. The season’s 25th game was missed by Embiid, a two-time NBA scoring champion. Embiid has only appeared in 13 games. Without Embiid, the Sixers are 8-17 and 7-6 with him.

Due to a sore left foot, Embiid missed his fifth consecutive game. In addition, he has missed games because of a nasal fracture, left knee pain, and a three-game suspension following a fight with a reporter in the locker room.

Coach Nick Nurse stated that there are approximately forty games left. That’s a lot. There are numerous games. We played some excellent basketball and emerged from the 3-14. I’m just making a lot of effort to keep them together, keep the guys who we know need to work on things better, and give certain guys chances that we believe will benefit us if we ever return to a healthy, full situation. I’m also trying to be aware of what that might look like.

Day-to-day is how Embiid is listed. Nurse had no update on the playing status of the All-Star three versus the Knicks and contacted the late news to inform them that George and Maxey were not available for a gut punch.

The 76ers appeared to turn things around after their terrible start, winning 10 of 13 games, including a historic victory in Boston on Christmas. After suffering a foot injury against the Celtics, Embiid went on to play in four more games, but not since January 4.

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As he recovered from a knee injury, the 76ers were careful with the 7-footer’s playing time this season. When Embiid is not playing, he is not subject to minute limits.

Nurse responded, “I was hoping we were kind of on a roll.” A foot injury or any other ongoing issues cannot be taken into consideration at this time. As far as the knee plan is concerned, I believe things are going quite well.

During the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, in Philadelphia, Eric Gordon of the Philadelphia 76ers, on the left, attempts a shot against Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Photo by Matt Slocum/AP)

The Thunder dropped to 16-point favorites, according to BETMGM Sportsbook, shortly after a lineup that featured Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, and Ricky Council IV making his first start of the season was released.

The 76ers were jeered off the court when they entered a timeout after Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer in the first quarter gave OKC a 32–11 advantage.

With Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Justin Edwards as their top scorers, the B-team Sixers rallied and won 91-87, reversing the momentum of the crowd.

In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the Thunder easily shut out the 76ers.

Now that Nurse was correct, the Sixers can only hope that the season can be saved in some way.

https://apnews.com/hub/nba is the AP NBA.

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