PHILADELPHIA— The Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 116-110 on Tuesday. Jalen Green returned from injury and showed flashes of his dynamic scoring ability but the main story of the night was the team’s strong shooting. Phoenix shot 41% from the behind the arc, hitting 16 threes on 39 attempts, following up their 20/39 three-point shooting night against the Brooklyn Nets last night with another great shooting performance.
Devin Booker led the team with 27 points and the team had three different players make at least three triples, including Royce O’Neale who had his 29th game of the season with three or more threes, tied for the most in the NBA this year.
With their second-straight game with a 40-point quarter, Phoenix pulled away in the third, outscoring the 76ers 40-31 in the frame and giving them a cushion when Philadelphia made a late push in the fourth quarter.
Now 27-17 on the year, Phoenix is now 27-17 on the year and have won three-straight all in a four-day span and look to be tied for fourth in Western Conference if the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves all lose tonight.
Game Flow
First Half
It took the Suns a second to get going, taking nearly 4 and a half minute to make their first shot. Around the six minute mark, Jalen Green made his long awaited return and he wasted no time, attacking the basket and going to the free throw line hitting two foul shots. He played off ball and got some opportunities to run the offense.
Phoenix struggled to knock down shots but thanks to their 11/11 free throw shooting, they trailed just 29-27 heading into the second quarter.
The Suns took their first lead of the game early in the second quarter thanks to Collin Gillespie’s hot shooting back in the area where he played his college ball. Philadelphia however would respond, going on a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter to put them back up 43-41 and forcing the Suns to call a timeout.
To close the half Phoenix and Philadelphia exchanged baskets, with both teams generating a lot of their offense through driving to the basket. The Suns led 57-53 with Devin Booker and Oso Ighodaro leading the team in scoring, going 13/13 from the line and limiting Philadelphia to 6/20 shooting from three. Kelly Oubre’s 16-point half led the 76ers.
Second Half
The 76ers struck first. Philly started the third on a 13-2 run, getting out in transition and generating turnovers, taking a 66-59 lead 2:39 into the half, forcing the Suns into a timeout. After the break Phoenix responded, going on their own run and retaking the lead thanks to scoring 4 baskets all from threes. Royce O’Neale was apart of the three-point flurry, helping his ranking in a major three-point statistic.
Jalen Green was also getting in on the three-point action. He hit a step back triple that had the Suns bench and fans excited.
After being down as much as seven, thanks to the three-point flurry the Suns ended the third on a 38-18 run and led 97-84 going into the fourth quarter.
The three point shooting continued to start the fourth quarter with Jordan Goodwin hitting a triple early in the frame.
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When the Suns’ lead got up to 17, the 76ers started to make a comeback, forcing Jordan Ott to call multiple timeouts as what was once almost a 20-point lead became a single digit one. However, as the Suns did against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, the team stayed composed and took home the victory.
Up Next
Phoenix will head to Atlanta to face the Hawks. The Suns will have two days between a game for the first time since December. They haven’t won in Atlanta since 2014, two seasons before Devin Booker was drafted.
