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Best and Worst awards: Sixers vs. OKC Thunder

    by Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
    Published 

OKLAHOMA CITY – My look at some of the best and worst performances from the Oklahoma City Thunder's 102-85 victory over the 76ers Friday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena:

Best performance: Only a fool wouldn't give this award to Russell Westbrook. The Thunder point guard had game highs of 21 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals en route to his second triple-double of the season. Seventeen of his points came after intermission. He scored seven points in a decisive 9-0 run to close out the third quarter after the Sixers closed the gap to 62-61.

Worst performance: There's no way that Jahlil Okafor could have avoided receiving this award. The Sixers standout center finally played like a rookie, getting his shot blocked and being pounded on in the pant. He scored a career-low six points on just 3 of 18 shot attempts. He also finished four turnovers. Okafor had his shot blocked six times – four coming on consecutive attempts in the third quarter.

Best defensive performance: This award goes to Serge Ibaka. The Thunder power forward finished with a game-high seven blocks to go with seven rebounds – all defensive. He also had 11 points, two assists and one steal.

Best performance by a Sixer: Christian Wood had to get this one. The reserve post player scored a career-high 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, a steal and a career-high two blocks.

Worst statistic: This goes to Okafor's shooting through three quarters. He made just  2 of 17 shots during that time.

Best statistic: This award goes to the Thunder's 13 blocked shots. In addition to Ibaka's seven, Steven Adams had three. Kyle Singler, Enes Kanter, and D.J. Augustin had one apiece.

Worst of the Worst: The Sixers' effort during the final 2 minutes, 32 seconds of the third quarter. They missed six shots – four from within 2 feet of the basket – and committed a closely turnovers as OKC ended the quarter on a 9-0 run.

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.