Thunder strike early to beat 36ers

A first half avalanche by Josh Giddey and Tre Mann led Oklahoma City Thunder to a 131-98 win against Adelaide 36ers at Paycom Arena Center.

Mann had 26 points, including eight from 10 from the three-point line, while Giddey amassed 10 points, six assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes as the Thunder stunned the 36ers from the opening tip.

Adelaide started tentatively and the Thunder took full advantage, Aaron Wiggins got to the free throw line early and when Giddey blocked Sunday Dech on the fast break which ended in a Mann triple, OKC had a 9-2 lead.

Craig Randall II (27 points, seven assists) continued his scoring form early on, attacking the basket, but when Giddey tipped in an easy hoop, OKC were out to a 16-8 advantage.

The 36ers couldn’t buy a basket, while Mann hit three of his first four triples as the Thunder built and early 17-point lead.

After swishing 24 three-pointers in the win against the Suns, Adelaide couldn’t find their range, missing their first seven triples before Randall II connected from deep.

But Giddey continued his dominance, and the Thunder had a 35-16 lead at the first change.

Daniel Johnson was a late omission due to an ankle injury he suffered in the opening minute of the second half in the win against Phoenix, and the 36ers missed their seven-time club MVP big time.

The Thunder flexed their muscles more to start the second quarter, their lead growing to as much as 38 points as OKC went into the main break with a 73-43 advantage.

Antonius Cleveland (19 points) tried to lift his side with two thunderous highlight dunks, then a triple, but the Thunder continued to have all the answers.

Mann’s hot form from outside continued, 36ers captain Mitch McCarron then stepped up with back-to-back triples, but the OKC lead never got below 20 points in the second half, going into the final 12 minutes 108-70 leaders.

Robert Franks, coming off 32 points and six triples against Phoenix, tried gallantly inside after the Thunder chased him off the three-point line, finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Eugene Omoruyi was dominant in the paint all night for OKC, scoring 19 points and grabbing four rebounds, outhustling the 36ers on several occasions.

Hyrum Harris (eight points, six rebounds) played extended minutes in Johnson’s absence and held his own against the bigger, stronger Thunder front court.

Adelaide rallied in the final quarter, but the damage had been done in the opening 24 minutes.

OKC THUNDER 131 (Mann 26, Waters III 23, Omoruyi 19) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 98 (Randall II 27, Franks 20, Cleveland 19) at Paycom Center.