Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard
Exclusive to subscribersYou can now gift articles

Sixers will try to break losing streak vs. Thunder without Joel Embiid, Boban Marjanovic

The Sixers' 19-game losing streak includes a loss in January to the Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers' Joel Embiid (21) falls onto the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook (0) in a contentious foul during a game at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. The Sixers lost 117-115.
The Sixers' Joel Embiid (21) falls onto the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook (0) in a contentious foul during a game at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. The Sixers lost 117-115.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer

OKLAHOMA CITY — The last time the 76ers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, general manager Elton Brand started in Philadelphia’s front court.

There’s some mystery about which bigs will start for the Sixers at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday night, when they try to snap a 19-game losing streak to the Thunder -- an NBA team’s longest active drought against any other. When Philadelphia last downed OKC on Nov. 15, 2008, Joel Embiid was a 14-year-old who had yet to start playing basketball in his native Cameroon, and Russell Westbrook was a rookie guard for a rookie franchise.

Embiid and Westbrook’s beef could be on hold, as the Sixers center will miss his fourth straight game with left knee tendinitis, after projections he could return for the matchup. His backup, Boban Marjanovic, will be absent, too, after suffering a bone bruise and minor sprain in his right knee late in Monday’s victory over New Orleans.

That leaves the Sixers (39-22) with rookie Jonah Bolden, who started Monday, and 14-year veteran Amir Johnson to handle Thunder centers Steven Adams and former Sixer Nerlens Noel. The visitors recalled Justin Patton from their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, on Wednesday, for depth.

“You’re gonna piecemeal it a little bit,” coach Brett Brown said.

During the losing streak to the Thunder (38-22), the Sixers didn’t post a winning record until last season, but their three meetings since have been compelling, including a 119-117 defeat in triple overtime in December 2017 and another two-point loss on a late Paul George four-point play on Jan. 19.

“We’re not really into moral victories,” guard T.J. McConnell said. “We just wanna come out with a W against them, kind of get that off our backs.”

Brown, who is 0-11 against the Thunder as the Sixers coach, did not know the skid has gone on that long.

“We’ve lost some heartbreakers to them,” he said. “Historically, they have been really skilled and good when we really weren’t, so I think that 19 number is very much inflated because of some previous years.”

While Embiid will not be available to try to stop the streak, Brown said he expects the two-time All-Star to return for Saturday’s home game against Golden State, with Marjanovic also expected to miss that contest.

The Sixers will rely on Bolden, Johnson, and Patton to handle Adams, who is enjoying a career year, though Brown said they could play small, with Mike Scott or Ben Simmons handling the post. Patton, acquired in the November trade with Minnesota for Jimmy Butler, will be suiting up for the Sixers for the first time. He has suffered fractures in both feet since being drafted 16th overall in 2017.

“Obviously, I wanna ... show that I’m supposed to be here,” Patton said. “That’s what the NBA is about, coming up from the bottom, coming from my position, two injuries, just showing I still got it, and that’s what I want to do.”