NBA: Suns snap skid, whip 76ers
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns reacts after a three-point shot against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on March 25, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
Devin Booker scored 29 points and the host Phoenix Suns pulled out of a three-game skid with a 125-105 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
T.J. Warren, Terrence Ross and Cameron Payne combined for 45 points off the bench for the Suns.
Phoenix (39-35) shot 50.5 percent from the floor as a team and used its balanced scoring to take control in the second half. The Suns went on a 13-3 run early in the fourth quarter that effectively put the game away.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 26, 2023
Booker led six Suns scoring at least 13 points. Fellow starters Chris Paul and Bismack Biyombo finished with 13 and 17, respectively. Biyombo also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Warren led the bench unit with 16 points, Ross added 15 and Payne finished with 14. Phoenix’s reserves outscored Philadelphia’s 53-17.
The 76ers (49-25) got a game-high 37 points from Tyrese Maxey, while Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid added 28 points and 10 rebounds.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 26, 2023
The Suns limited Embiid to 8-of-19 shooting from the floor, however, forcing him into a slow start. Embiid shot just 4-of-11 from the floor before intermission.
Tobias Harris was the only other Sixer to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points.
The loss was Philadelphia’s second in as many nights and dropped the 76ers to 1-2 on a four-game road swing.
The 76ers are now two games behind Boston for second place in the Eastern Conference and four back of Milwaukee, which lost to Denver on Saturday.
Phoenix’s bounceback from a loss Friday in Sacramento keeps the Suns on pace with the Los Angeles Clippers, jockeying for the No. 4 seed in the West.
Phoenix was again without Kevin Durant, sidelined since March 8 with an ankle injury, and Deandre Ayton, who missed his fourth straight due to a hip injury.
