By Jenny Masters
Seth Curry scored 23 of his 28 points in the first quarter in the visiting Sixers’ 115-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Curry made 6 of 7 3-pointers in the opening period to help the 76ers take a 36-26 lead.
Curry’s older brother, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is known for such streaks. Seth said this run was a bit different than the crazy ones Steph goes on.
“I was getting good shots,” Seth Curry said. “It wasn’t like I was 18 dribbles, half-court, 40-footers. It wasn’t like I was like on a Steph-type streak. I was finding good shots.”
Joel Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds for Philly in a 2-1 start as they work through issues with Ben Simmons, the point guard the team listed as out because of personal reasons.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points, and rookie Josh Giddey had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City fell to 0-3, but the Thunder might have won over some fans with their scrappy play down the stretch.
“We just competed tonight, especially in the fourth,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We did everything we could to get the game. Obviously, it wasn’t enough, but we were going to put our hard-hats on and try to go get it for sure.”
The Thunder hung tough after Curry’s fast start. A deep step-back 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander cut the 76ers’ lead to 59-51 at halftime. Philadelphia held an 87-78 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The 76ers had an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle and Georges Niang all hit 3-pointers in an 88-second span to put the 76ers up 98-80.
Giddey hit two free throws, then he got a steal and made a 3-pointer to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 110-102 with just over a minute to play. Curry then hit a 3-pointer for his first points since the first quarter to keep the 76ers in control.
“They were on a big run,” Curry said. “It got kind of loud in there for a second. … we needed to kind of stop the run. Once we broke the press, Tobias (Harris) found me in the corner and I just took my time, set my feet and shot it like any other shot. Just one of those that you step into with confidence, and it was a big shot to kind of close the game out.”
