The Sixers waved the white flag before the game even started. One by one, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey were all ruled out. Despite that, the depleted Philly squad forced OKC to sweat out a close victory.

The Sixers could not overcome a gigantic difference in manpower Tuesday night against the Western Conference-leading Thunder They fell to a 118-102 loss at Wells Fargo Center, dropping to 15-23 with their third consecutive defeat.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Jalen Williams had 24 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over a Philadelphia 76ers team missing three All-Stars.

Oklahoma City lost the second and third quarters by 10 combined points, but its talent advantage loomed large in the other two frames.

USA: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles as Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) defends during the second half in game six of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center.

The shorthanded Sixers may have fallen to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a number of highlights from the squad’s effort worth watching.

Despite most — this beat writer included — assuming that the Sixers would have their doors blown off by the NBA's best team defense and individual scorer, the nine players donning red, white and blue played with absolutely no expectation that they were going to be on the wrong end of a blowout.

Here are the three biggest takeaways for the Philadelphia 76ers following a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting to guide the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

The G League lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers made things interesting against the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

The 76ers squared off with the Knicks in Philadelphia in a matchup without Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Knicks (27-15) scored the first eight points of the overtime en route to outscoring the Sixers, 16-10, in the extra session. Former Villanova standout Jalen Brunson scored eight of his game-high 38 points in overtime.