The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a very good start on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. They scored 39 points in the opening quarter. The ball was moving, and they were getting everybody involved as they built a 15-point lead in the second quarter.
None of it mattered.
They fell to the Suns, 114-104. The offense bogged down. The Sixers couldn’t find an open shot, and when they did, they weren’t able to convert. They shot 31.9% in the second half after shooting 52.4% from the floor in the first half.
The player who drew the most ire was James Harden. The scoring maestro had one of those games. He shot 2-for-11 from the floor and had 14 points on a night the Sixers needed more. The Beard chalked it up to needing to be more aggressive, but it was still peculiar either way.
NBA Twitter had reactions after the game.