With the NBA in infinite quarantine, I am continuing my quarantine diary where I give my thoughts to a game whenever a game becomes accessible. These will become a bit more frequent now that all games have become accessible.
Saturday’s edition continues with the Philadelphia 76ers road trip as they look to keep the 5-0 start to the season going. They continued their road trip by heading to the Valley of the Sun to take on the Phoenix Suns.
First Quarter
- Brett Brown turns to the hero of the Portland game, Furkan Korkmaz, to start in this one. He had gone with Matisse Thybulle in the first two games that Joel Embiid did not play in, but the team got off to a slow start on offense against the Trail Blazers so this move could be in response to that.
- Oh God, Aron Baynes is just going to torch the Sixers every time he sees them, isn’t he? He drills a flat-footed triple and Phoenix leads it 14-11 before old friend Dario Saric makes a tough layup.
- Philadelphia goes on a 16-6 run to close out this quarter as Al Horford drills a triple to give the Sixers a 31-29 lead after one. Ben Simmons had four steals in that opening stanza, but overall, the team’s defense lacked some bite.
Second Quarter
- Tobias Harris is just a good basketball player. The way he can make reads and make cuts off the ball is impressive. Is he worth $180 million? No, but he is a very valuable player nonetheless.
- Kyle O’Quinn hops off the bench and he knocks down a three, but Baynes hits another triple and that upsets Brown. He hops off the bench and is very upset that Baynes of all people is getting open triples. What a world we’re living in.
- Horford knocks down a three from the top of the key, Baynes fouls Korkmaz while shooting a three, and then Horford hits a pull up three at the buzzer. The Sixers lead the Suns 61-55 at the half on the road.
Third Quarter
- Devin Booker has scored the first three buckets of this quarter for the Suns. He had 13 points at the half and is already at six in this quarter through the first three minutes. This kid is such a smooth scorer too, he’s so impressive.
- Booker then has a slam, a triple, and he assists Kelly Oubre Jr. for a corner three. The Philadelphia lead is down to two, but Horford knocks down his fourth three of the night to keep the Sixers afloat.
- Booker drills another triple. He’s now up to 16 points in this quarter and is up to 29 for the game. Philadelphia responds by trying to get him to work defensively. Harris backs him in, draws contact, and hits a jumper. That’s the fourth foul on Booker and he heads to the bench.
- Somehow, the Sixers don’t take advantage of Booker’s absence. Mikal Bridges scores off a steal and Phoenix takes the lead 81-80. The Sixers do eventually answer with a Harris layup and they carry an 82-81 lead into the fourth. That seems like a missed opportunity for Philly.
Fourth Quarter
- The Sixers begin the quarter with a Josh Richardson turnover which gives the Suns some confidence. Ricky Rubio scores from the line and then Tyler Johnson hits two jumpers before Rubio hits a three. Phoenix is now up 90-84.
- Baynes is just a thorn in the Sixers’ side. After Korkmaz hits a three to bring Philadelphia to within three, Baynes knocks down another one from deep. You have to give him credit for expanding his range.
- Rubio knocks down an open triple now before Bridges picks up a steal and he finds Booker–fresh for the final run–for a slam. Brown calls for time with Philadelphia down by seven.
- The Sixers respond with a 7-0 run as Korkmaz hits a triple and then Horford throws down a slam of the putback variety. Of course, Booker answers with a fall-away jumper to give Phoenix the lead back.
- Booker scores again on an And-1 before a Korkmaz offensive foul leads to an Oubre Jr. bucket to give Phoenix a 109-103 with 1:08 left. Philadelphia will need a miracle in this one.
- Horford and Korkmaz knock down some triples, but the Suns get free throws from Oubre Jr. and Booker in between those 3-pointers and that’s it. The Suns hand the Sixers their first loss of the season 114-109.
Philadelphia’s defense has left a lot to be desired on this road trip. Sure, they earned that win over the Blazers, but they gave up 128 points. They then give up 114 in this one with Booker scoring 40 points. There’s just a lot to take care of there.
Horford had 32 points which the Sixers will take all the time when Embiid is out, Harris had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Korkmaz had 20. Simmons and Richardson struggled combining to shoot 5-for-19 and scoring 14 points. [lawrence-related id=28427,28424,28407]