Sixers Drop 3rd Straight In 124-113 Loss To Suns
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gerald Green scored 30 points and Goran Dragic had 24 to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 124-113 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
There was no need for a Suns comeback in this one. They led wire-to-wire over the hapless Sixers, one night after they rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to win at Cleveland.
The Suns made their first six shots and 10 of 11, and raced to a 16-point lead. Green made his first seven shots until he botched a fastbreak dunk.
Markieff Morris scored 13 points and had four blocks. The Suns blocked 12 shots.
Green and Dragic, Phoenix's starting backcourt, combined to make 19 of 25 shots and the Suns shot around 60 percent for most of the game.
Michael Carter-Williams had 22 points and 11 assists for the Sixers, who have lost 10 of 12.
The Suns picked up where they left off in Cleveland, when they held the Cavaliers to six points in the third quarter and outscored them 56-29 in the second half. They attacked the Sixers from all over the court, scoring in bunches on dunks, floaters and 3-pointers. Sixers coach Brett Brown called a timeout 25 seconds into the game. Whatever he didn't like out of the Sixers, he couldn't fix.
Green hit a 3 and Dragic connected on a 19-footer for a fast 36-20 lead. The Suns and Sixers were both expected to finish near the bottom of their conferences. After a 3-0 start, the Sixers crashed back to reality and are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. The surprising Suns (26-18) have survived the loss of Eric Bledsoe (knee) and have positioned themselves as playoff team in the Western Conference.
The Suns took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter and held off a minor Sixers' run that whittled the score down to single digits.
Green settled the Suns with a 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 113-100 with 3:10 left. His fourth 3 of the game (on four attempts) sealed the win and the Suns cruised toward their fourth win in five games.
Miles Plumlee had 14 points and 13 rebounds against a Sixers team that entered allowing a league-worst 109.5 points per game. P.J. Tucker scored 15.
Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young both scored 21 points for the Sixers.
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