NBA Manchester: Durant double-double as OKC beat Sixers
Hopefully, you have followed UKAmericanSportsFans.com over the past couple of days during the events in Manchester as the NBA rolled into town for the NBA Global Games tour.
It all culminated with the first ever NBA game to be played in the UK outside of London, at Manchester’s Phones 4u Arena, between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
Almost 13,500 fans packed out the venue, including stars of both Manchester United (Rio Ferdinand, David De Gea, Adnan Januzaj, Darren Fletcher, Sam Johnstone) and Manchester City (Jack Rodwell and Patrick Vieira), to see some of the biggest names go to work on court during their pre-season and were not disappointed.
Images: NBAE/Getty Images
The game itself saw OKC run out 103-99 winners, but no doubt had this been a regular season game, with a full strength roster (Russell Westbrook noticeably missing from the squad due to surgery that is side-lining the guard for another four-to-five weeks), then the result more than likely would have been a runaway success for Thunder.
However, the Sixers produced a good showing to the Manchester crowd, despite many predicting they will not make it to the playoffs, and even possibly have one of the worst records in the league for the coming season.
Kevin Durant was the main attraction for the British fans, and even though he played just a shade over 33 minutes, was well on the way towards a triple-double had he made another two boards, but finished instead with a double-double of 21 points and 12 assists. Reggie Jackson stepped up for Thunder in the absence of Westbrook, leading all scorers on 29 points, together with eight assists, whilst Serge Ibaka, who was on his second trip to the city in three months, also claimed a double-double (18 pts, 11 rbs).
There was a fair share of minutes within the Sixers, as coach Brett Brown cast his eye over who will be staying and who will be on their way come the start of the regular season with a tough opener against reigning champions, Miami Heat.
Ten of the eleven players who featured for Philly made 13 minutes or more, but Brown was more concerned with the number of turnovers made by his side during the course of their overseas stint. With a score of errors in Manchester, and more whilst in Bilbao, the newest head coach in the NBA knows that has to be tightened up.
Michael Carter-Williams impressed many on the night with good shooting from beyond the perimeter, 60%, a solid number of assists and all with only 25 minutes of game time to his name.
Nerlens Noel was also with the side, despite his injury status, according to coach Brown in order to understand the workings of the team, and give him an opportunity to see just how an NBA team really works at such a young age.
Click here for videos post-game (via NBA.com)
KEVIN DURANT POST-GAME — COACH BROOKS POST-GAME — COACH BROWN AND EVAN TURNER POST-GAME
