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The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 of the trip, but they encountered a Phoenix Suns team playing some good basketball entering the game. Their defense failed them as they fell 120-111 and are 1-2 on the trip.
The main culprit was Suns star Devin Booker, who had 36 points to lead the way. He was efficient, shooting 14-23 from the ground, and he knocked down three 3s, including a late logo dagger.
He struggled early on as Ben Simmons did a terrific job against him, but once he was able to get switches he was able to get into a groove. Once Booker enters an area, he’s basically unstoppable.
“We just didn’t have the ability to stay square for the most part,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Booker takes tough shots, and you’ll always live with them. I thought overall Ben had done a really good job, especially in the first half. The times Booker scored, for the most part, was when Ben was beside himself and someone changed.
There have been a few times Danny Green has passed by Booker and the sun has taken advantage of it.
“We let it heat up,” Green said. “Partly my fault. I let him go to the basket and grab a few easy ones. We had them hidden enough, so we had them well placed to begin with, he wasn’t too comfortable. He once had a couple to drop to get to the free throw line. Then he got a couple warmed up, they put some good screens on him, we didn’t get into bodies like we’re supposed to. We weren’t physical enough with these guys.
Simmons felt the team got off to a good start, but it wasn’t the night after the opening quarter.
“I think the coverage, overall, was good to start the game,” Simmons said. “We had a few blitzes going on, which led to some changes in the transition. We had no rhythm in the second half. We had too many detours, we didn’t have too many stops. It’s hard to keep that pace when the guys are hitting shots and you have to get the ball out. You can’t just get the rebound and take out what was part of it.
This post originally appeared on Sixers wire! follow us on Facebook!
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