The Sixers trailed by 21 points after the first 9:30 of “action,” by 16 after one quarter and watched the Thunder hit 13 of their first 15 shots from the field. A very MVP-like 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 24 from Jaylin Williams eventually asserted the Thunder’s obvious superiority.

They brace for it, watch film of the potential fatalities. A fortunate few have escaped. But all endure pain, customary when you step onto the pale hardwood in Oklahoma City.  Slow, 48-minute death — just three quarters if the damage is done like it has been three times this past week — by 1,