Sixers drop second straight game despite big Tyrese Maxey night

3 observations after Sixers drop second straight despite big Maxey night originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers have followed a run of seven consecutive road wins with two straight defeats.

They capped a winless back-to-back Saturday night by falling to a 125-105 loss to the Suns at Footprint Center.

Tyrese Maxey poured in 37 points on 14-for-19 shooting. Joel Embiid had 28 points on 8-for-19 shooting, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Devin Booker was Phoenix’s top scorer with 29 points.

The Sixers remained without James Harden (left Achilles soreness) and Danuel House Jr. (right shoulder soreness).

The Suns were down Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) and Deandre Ayton (right hip contusion). Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 39-35.

With eight regular-season games left, the Sixers are 49-25. They’ll finish their four-game road trip Monday night against the Nuggets.

Here are observations on the team’s loss in Phoenix:

Booker’s norm vs. Sixers 

De’Anthony Melton drew another star assignment defensively, opening on Booker, but he didn’t last long.

Melton picked up his second foul a little under three minutes into the game on a made Booker jumper from just inside the arc. That led to early minutes for Jalen McDaniels in the 25-year-old’s return from a right hip injury that caused him to miss four of the last six games.

Although Booker has long enjoyed facing the Sixers, Matisse Thybulle’s ability to tail the three-time All-Star around the floor and recover to swiftly snuff out apparent openings was sometimes effective. Like Thybulle, McDaniels is talented at working his way back into plays and fluidly sticking with opposing wing scorers. However, Booker found regular opportunities to drive downhill late in the first quarter. He scored half of the Suns’ 26 points in the period.

The Sixers did get a missed three from Booker in the first when they played zone on an after-timeout possession, which they’ve been doing often lately. They continued to mix in zone, drew a couple of missed Landry Shamet jumpers, and generally benefited from Phoenix’s cold shooting start. The…


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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2023-03-26 05:03:00

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