Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley posted 10 points in the first quarter in his return to the court and finished the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday with a team-high 12 points in 15 minutes.
He had been out the entire second half of the season due to a shoulder contusion on his shooting arm. In his first game action since March 4, Bazley went 5-for-7 from the field, made both 3-pointers he attempted, and had three rebounds and assists apiece by halftime.
Despite this, the Thunder went into the break trailing the Sixers 66-53.
Bazley may have scored 10 for the Thunder in the first quarter, but three different 76ers reached the double-digit mark as well over the first 12 minutes. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Furkan Korkmaz all had 10 points, and the team shot 55% from the field in the opening frame. They were nearly unstoppable inside the arc, going 13-for-16 from 2-point range in the first quarter.
Embiid continued to dominate in the second quarter. He finished the half with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and attempted nine free throws.
Thunder center Tony Bradley, facing off against his old team, had eight points in 10 minutes of play.
Overall, the Thunder shot well from the field, posting a field goal mark of 52.4% and making four of their nine 3-pointers, but the 76ers shot a nearly identical 52.1%
A 13-1 run for the Sixers in the second quarter allowed them to extend their lead as high as 20 before OKC could trim it back down to 13 to end the half on a Theo Maledon buzzer-beater from the corner.
Tune into the rest of the game at Bally Sports Oklahoma.
