‘Do-or-die’ Philly wins fourth straight with win over Phoenix
Philly holds off Phoenix for its fourth straight win.
The Philadelphia 76ers won their fourth straight game, 112-100, against the Phoenix Suns in the 2023-2024 NBA regular season at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Friday (Dec. 5).
Philadelphia recently traded James Harden to the Clippers, a move that overshadowed the team’s atmosphere, with Harden requesting a trade before the season.
But even without Harden, who had the highest assist average in the league last season, Philly’s early season momentum is pretty good. They lost their opener to Milwaukee, but have since won four straight.
Joel Embiid led the way with a double-double of 26 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with 11 rebounds and three assists. Tyreese Maxey, who now forms a one-two punch with Embiid in Harden’s absence, also had a strong game with 22 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists.
Newcomers Kelly Oubre (25 points, 3 rebounds) and highly paid Tobias Harris (18 points, 10 rebounds) also did their part. 캡틴토토
Phoenix was led by Kevin Durant with 31 points, eight rebounds and three assists, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the team from losing. The absence of Bradley Beal, who still hasn’t made his season debut with a back injury, and Devin Booker, who missed the night with a sore ankle suffered during the last game, were sorely missed.
After finishing the first quarter with a slim 25-24 lead, Philadelphia started the second quarter with an even scoring distribution and slowly began to pull away. Phoenix fought back with Durant leading the charge. But Ubre’s three-pointer and layup at the end of the quarter gave Philadelphia a 52-45 halftime lead.
Philadelphia opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from DeAndre Melton, Embiid, and Ubre to take a double-digit lead, with Embiid dominating the offense and outplaying his matchup partner Jusuf Nurkic. But Phoenix didn’t give up. A late-quarter surge of focus helped them cut the deficit. However, a three-pointer from Embiid capitalized on the final offensive possession and Philadelphia ended the third quarter with an 80-75 lead.
Philadelphia held onto their lead in the fourth quarter and closed out the game with a win. With the starters back in the game, Philadelphia took the lead midway through the quarter with a pair of three-pointers from Maxi, followed by a cool dunk from Ubre.