Final Score: Suns defeat Sixers, 95-89 - Immediate Reaction Thread

Well, that was a missed opportunity. With another tough back-to-back coming up this weekend, the Sixers really could have used a win against the struggling Suns tonight.

But alas, the Sixers got caught in a classic trap game. I wrote in the preview why I thought this might happen:

Think about it: the Sixers are coming off a big win over the Lakers last night. The Suns haven't played since Monday, so they'll be more rested. Earlier in the year the Sixers almost lost to the Suns if it were not for Michael Beasley missing a fairly easy lay-up attempt to tie the game. Phoenix have been on a losing streak and are bound to be hungry for a win. Despite their losing streak, they played some tough teams during that stretch including Portland, LAC, NYK, Pacers, T-Wolves, and OKC.

Make no mistake: this is still a very winnable game for the Sixers. They just won't be able to sleep walk through this one if they play like they did the last time the two teams met.

Sigh.

The first half was a hard-fought back and forth affair, with a Jason Richardson layup putting the Sixers up 49-48 going into the half. But then the Sixers came out very flat in the third quarter and started to fall behind, and were outscored 27 to 17 while shooting 8-23 from the field. By the end of the 3rd, the Suns were up 9. The Suns continued to pull away a little in the fourth but couldn't entirely put the Sixers away until the end.

Phoenix was led by Luis Scola (22 pts, 9 ast, 4 rebs), Goran Dragic (19 pts, 4 ast), and Marcin Gortat (11 pts, 14 rebs). Shannon Brown scored 12 off the bench.

The Sixers' top performers were Jrue Holiday (16 pts, 10 ast, 10 rebs), Thaddeus Young (14 pts, 10 rebs), and Dorell Wright off the bench (14 pts).

Use this thread to express your reactions to the game.

Full recap will be up later.

Links:

Complete 76ers vs Suns coverage

Phoenix perspective - Bright Side Of The Sun