PHILADELPHIA _ This was a huge letdown for the 76ers.
The Phoenix Suns came into the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night as losers of two straight and three of their last five games. They are the NBA's sixth-worst team record-wise.
This was supposed to be an easy game for the improved Sixers. So we thought.
The Suns prevailed, 115-101, in front of a shocked sellout crowd of 20,564.
This marked the second time this season that the Sixers (13-10) lost to an inferior squad they were expected to dominate. The first time came in a 109-108 setback to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 9. On both occasions, they looked sluggish and had their share of miscues.
"A game like this is without a doubt a missed opportunity," Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
On this night, his squad hurt itself by missing 3-pointers. The Sixers made 7 of 30 (23.3 percent) for the game. Robert Covington slipped back into his shooting slump. He finished with 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 2 of 10 on 3-pointers.
While Covington and the Sixers struggled to make 3s, they were torched by Devin Booker.
The Suns shooting guard finished with a season-high 46 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals. He scored 32 points after intermission, with 19 coming in the fourth quarter. That's when he made three of his five 3-pointers.
The Suns (9-16) had two other double-digit scorers in T.J. Warren (25 points) and Tyler Ulis (12 points, 12 assists.)
With those three leading the way, the Sixers trailed by 17 points late in the second quarter.
However, JJ Redick pulled them within 99-94 on a three-pointer with 4 minutes, 49 seconds remaining. But Ulis responded with a 3-pointer 26 seconds later. Then Booker went on a personal 8-0 run to put the game away.
Booker's 3-pointer at the 3:42 mark put the Suns up, 105-94.
The fans started exiting the building after Booker drained another 3-pointer to make it a 108-94 game with 2:59 remaining. Then his breakaway dunk at 2:01 put the Suns up by 16 points.
Ben Simmons may not have felt well, but he looked better than most of the Sixers. The point guard finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals "I woke up and didn't feel like I could play," Simmons said.
So he drank a lot of fluids and arrived at the team's practice facility at around noon for treatment. Even though Simmons didn't feel that much better, he still opted to play.
"I feel like my body kind of hit a wall," Simmons of the NBA's grueling schedule. "It all caught up with me. I've just got to start taking care of myself."
But he came out strong, scoring on his first four shots. The rookie had eight points, four rebounds and two assists in the first seven minutes.
Redick paced the Sixers with 25 points. Joel Embiid added 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, posting his seventh straight double-double and 13th of the season.
