The Suns cooled off as the Sixers defense locked in. Philly only allowed 4 points in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter. With their starters back in, the 76ers made it a 5 point game with 4:46 left in the 1st half. However, aided by Philadelphia turnovers, the Suns then recorded 8 unanswered in less than a minute. Evan Turner scored 6 straight to end the quarter. At halftime, the Sixers found themselves down 62-54. Turner led his team with 13 and Goran Dragic led the Suns with 15 points at halftime. Philadelphia went 10-10 at the foul-line in the 1st half, but Phoenix knocked down 62% of their field goals.
Carter-Williams showed some much needed defensive intensity but the 76ers could not quickly cut further into Phoenix's lead. The Sixers attempted to attack the rim, something they do well, but got denied 12????? times. Over the last 7 games, the Sixers have had 10.3 shots blocked per game. Thad Young, Brett Brown, and Evan Turner each were called for a technical in the game as their frustration boiled over. Philly's perfect free-throw shooting ended at 21 in the 3rd quarter. After a sloppy quarter, the Sixers trailed 95-82.
A 7-0 run forced a Phoenix timeout and brought the Sixers within 8 with 5:52 remaining. Spencer Hawes fouled out with just over 3:00 minutes left on the clock, striking a big blow to the Sixers' comeback hopes. Green hit a deep 3, his 4th of the contest, to basically bury the Sixers. Philly lost 124-113, going win-less on there 3 game homestand.
MCW scored 22 points and added 11 assists in the loss. Both Turner and Young added 21 points and 3 steals each. Hawes scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Hollis Thompson provided great energy in reserve and scored 10 points. Philly turned the ball over a sloppy 21 times (Young and Hawes had 4 TOs each). Impressively, the Sixers hit 25 of 26 free throws and out-scored the Suns 56-42 in the paint.
Gerald Green scored an efficient 30 points on 10-12 shooting while blocking 3 shots for the Suns. Dragic recorded 7 assists and 3 steals to go with his 24 points. Miles Plumlee secured 13 rebounds and added 14 points. Phoenix shot 54% for the game and scored fast-break 24 points.
The Sixers take to the road and challenge the Celtics (15-31) on Wednesday.
By: Matt Ryan