3 observations after Sixers drop second straight despite big Maxey night

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 always 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 Suns began 4 for 17 from the floor and 1 for 5 from three-point range. 

Phoenix eventually warmed up and the Sixers failed to force any live-ball turnovers in the first half. Without Harden conducting the offense, it hurt not to have open-court chances to attack off of Suns giveaways. 

As he frequently has the last two seasons, Tobias Harris defended a star scorer in the second half. McDaniels also guarded Booker late in the third quarter and fouled him on a jumper for the second time. While McDaniels is still adjusting to a new team and had an especially tough task Saturday, the Sixers will want him to curb the unnecessary fouls on jump shooters and be satisfied with solid contests come playoff time. 

Ultimately, Booker’s 29-point outing was essentially his par for the course. He’d averaged 29.6 points against the Sixers before Saturday night. 

Maxey the hottest hand 

After a 46-point, eight-assist performance Friday in the Sixers’ loss to the Warriors, Embiid opened 0 for 4 from the floor. 

Bismack Biyombo (17 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks) started the game well and Phoenix’s double teams on Embiid’s post-ups largely had the intended impact. The Suns prevented Embiid from gaining deep post position, pressured him without committing bail-out fouls, tracked cutters, and didn’t abandon strong shooters. That all sounds basic, but Embiid has decimated many game plans and Phoenix deserves some credit for being diligent about its defensive principles. The Suns limited Embiid to 12 first-half points on 4-for-11 shooting. Of course, Embiid also wasn’t anywhere close to his best on the second night of a back-to-back. 

P.J. Tucker actually made a shot before Embiid; after an 0-for-5 evening against Golden State, the 37-year-old hit a corner three and posted five points in the first quarter. Still, paltry scoring by the Sixers’ role players was a massive problem. At halftime, Melton, McDaniels, Shake Milton and Georges Niang were a combined 1 for 13 from the field. The Suns scored 19 of the game’s first 21 bench points. 

The Sixers stayed afloat because of Maxey, who confidently led Embiid-less lineups, hunted down shots, and made a bunch of them. He sunk 7 of his 11 threes in the game, increasing his season percentage to 42.8.

On a significantly higher volume this year, he very well may improve upon his 42.7 percent mark as an NBA sophomore. As a rookie, Maxey was at a mere 30.1 percent. 

Suns pull away thanks to second unit 

Maxey’s seventh three gave the Sixers a 74-72 lead in the third quarter. 

Embiid began the second half better than the first, although Biyombo and the Suns still defended him impressively. Biyombo even rejected an Embiid mid-range jumper. And when it appeared Embiid was about to score inside on the veteran big man, Paul pounced to steal the ball. 

The Sixers trailed by four points late in the third quarter when Embiid subbed out. Head coach Doc Rivers opted for Dewayne Dedmon over Paul Reed in that spot, a decision presumably influenced by a preference for Dedmon’s size in this specific matchup. Phoenix played Australian center Jock Landale, who’s listed at 6-foot-11, 255 pounds. Though Dedmon was certainly not the lone reason the next five or so minutes went badly, the the Suns ended up outscoring the Sixers by 13 points with him on the court Saturday night. Phoenix got valuable second-unit offense from T.J. Warren (16 points) and Terrence Ross (15 points), and the Suns continued to avoid momentum-halting turnovers. 

Embiid returned early in the fourth quarter and played approximately five minutes, but Rivers reasonably removed his starters with 4:06 remaining and the Sixers down by 18 points.

After a disappointing back-to-back, the Sixers will now shift their focus to a marquee matchup on Monday in Denver. They’ll aim to avoid their first three-game losing streak since a skid from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.