Phoenix Suns scorch Philadelphia 76ers 115-102 to start west coast trip

The Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 115-102 as Philadelphia falls to 38-31 on the season and moves back to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference with Miami (38-31) having the season-series advantage.

Kelly Oubre Jr. led the 76ers in scoring with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey immensely struggled with just 6 points and 7 assists on 3-13 shooting from the field.

Grayson Allen exploded for 32 points and 5 assists on 10-17 field shooting and 9-15 shooting from beyond the arc. Kevin Durant contributed 22 points and 8 rebounds and Devin Booker had a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists. 

The 76ers were deprived of Robert Covington (knee), Joel Embiid (knee), Kai Jones (hamstring), De’Anthony Melton (back), and Tobias Harris, who’s now missed his third consecutive game due to a right ankle sprain.

The Suns were without Damion Lee (meniscus) and Josh Okogie (abdomen).

Tyrese Maxey struggles as 76ers take an early lead

Phoenix couldn’t buy a bucket early on as the Suns shot 3-14 from the field midway through the period. Despite quality looks off penetration and in transition, the Suns simply couldn’t knock anything down. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were a combined 2-7 in this stretch of the quarter. 

Kyle Lowry helped the 76ers capitalize on Phoenix’s missed shots by pushing the pace in transition, finding Kelly Oubre Jr. (7 first-quarter points) routinely cutting to the rim and taking advantage of a mismatched Jusuf Nurkic, hitting a pull-up mid-range jumper. Lowry had a team-high 3 assists to end the period.

Although Phoenix started cold, the Suns dominated Philadelphia off the glass as Phoenix racked up 12 offensive rebounds and converted them into 11 second-chance points. Nurkic recorded 7 rebounds, 5 of which came from the offensive glass in the quarter. It was a mixture of getting beat off the dribble, poor positioning, and lack of box-out help for the 76ers. 

Tyrese Maxey greatly struggled to create his shot off the bounce as he was defended nicely by Grayson Allen, but Maxey ultimately rushed into low-quality shots that killed offensive possessions. Maxey scored just 4 points and shot 2-7 from the field in the quarter. 

Cam Payne and Kenyon Martin Jr. chipped in 4 points apiece to give the 76ers a two-point lead heading into the 2nd quarter. Payne got to the rim off a pair of attacked close-outs and Martin Jr. provided solid defensive rotations, rebounding, and back-cutting. 

76ers have no answer for Suns’ offense

Payne carried the momentum built in the 1st quarter into the second frame of action as his first miss of the game came at the 8:32 mark of the quarter. Payne canned a pair of spot-up threes in transition, but then had a bit of a heat check on his next few touches. He finished the half as Philadelphia’s leading scorer with 12 points on 5-8 field shooting. 

.@campayne makin' it rain. ☔️ pic.twitter.com/lypLBgFWkP

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 21, 2024

The 76ers couldn’t stop the on-ball pressure of Phoenix’s back-court as Devin Booker and Bradley Beal repeatedly collapsed the defense off the pick-and-roll and created weak-side threes for the likes of Allen, Bol, and O’Neale. That combined with Kevin Durant’s ability to score in the mid-range led the Suns on a 23-6 run where Phoenix’s lead ballooned to double-digits. 

Although Nicolas Batum (8 points and 3 rebounds in the half) got into a solid two-way rhythm, forcing on-ball turnovers and working off the ball, Booker continued to penetrate into the paint and create perimeter looks for Allen, who shot 4-7 from three in the half. Booker finished the quarter with 10 points and 8 assists as Phoenix shot 50% from three on 20 attempts heading into the 2nd half. 

76ers offensive struggles

Phoenix’s hot shooting slightly cooled off to start the 2nd half as the Suns carelessly threw the ball away and Philadelphia wittingly forced turnovers one-on-one. The 76ers kept stringing together stops and chipping away at Phoenix’s lead, cutting the deficit to as little as 9 points.

Tyrese Maxey ran the pick-and-roll very well and used his rim gravity to create offense for teammates, finding Bamba for three off the screen, Reed rolling to the rim, and Oubre for a corner three that just rolled in.

After nearly letting the 76ers back in it, the Suns obtained their largest lead of the game of 19 points with 3:40 to go in the period. Grayson Allen’s lights-out shooting translated from the first half as he nailed 6 three-pointers through three quarters and Devin Booker’s scoring off the bounce shined where he beautifully stopped on a dime and drilled quick pull-ups within the arc. 

Grayson Allen has 7 games with 8+ threes this season.

The most ever by a player not named Steph, Klay, Harden or Dame. pic.twitter.com/nU86US4vr3

— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 21, 2024

Despite Maxey’s offensive struggles, the all-star guard was Philadelphia’s only reliable offensive creator in the quarter. Payne went cold after a quick start and Hield was ineffective as a ball-handler and spot-up shooter. 

The Suns nicely forced turnovers defending off the dribble and pounced the 76ers in transition, which is where the likes of Allen and Booker thrived. Philadelphia scored just 19 points in the period and shot 40.9% from the field heading into the final frame. 

76ers’ two-way players show promise

In a game that was all but lost, Ricky Council IV, Jeff Dowtin Jr., and Kenyon Martin Jr. stepped onto the floor and gave the 76ers an energetic two-way burst. Council thrived in transition with his high-flying ability and  Dowtin hit a pair of threes along with solid facilitating, finding Martin Jr. (11 points and 13 rebounds) in the corner and off a back-cut. Dowtin recorded 12 points and 2 assists on 4-4 shooting from the field and Council tallied 10 points and 2 assists on 4-5 field shooting. 

The revamped 76ers managed to cut Phoenix’s lead down to 11 points on a 22-10 run after being down as much as 26 points, but in the end, Allen checked back in and drilled a series of nail-in-the-coffin threes and Durant chipped in 7 4th-quarter points to close Philadelphia out. Regardless, Philadelphia, led by Dowtin and Council, out-scored Phoenix 36-25 in the period.

The 76ers will continue their west coast road swing on Friday against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. EST.

Mandatory Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)