Final
Suns prolong Sixers' road ineptitude
Dec 29, 2013 - 6:06 AMVideo
Goran Dragic had 21 points, Eric Bledsoe scored 20 and Marcus Morris added 18 off the bench for the Suns, who bounced back from a 29-point road loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday to win for the eighth time in 11 games.
Morris hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a key 9-0 burst late in the fourth quarter that helped Phoenix put the game away.
"It was not a pretty game but in the end we'll take the win every day," said Dragic.
Thaddeus Young scored a game-high 30 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Sixers and Michael Carter-Williams had 27 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Philadelphia fell to 1-9 in its last 10 games, 3-17 in its last 20 and saw its road losing streak reach 13 games,
The Sixers are 1-13 away from home this season and in the midst of a six-game road trip that continues Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers and will also take the team to Denver, Sacramento and Portland.
Sixers coach Brett Brown pointed to his team's 101 points as evidence that the offense is in good shape.
The defense? Phoenix scored 31 fast-break points, including a 15-0 margin in the first quarter, and Brown said he'd like to see more improvements.
"Defensively we just have a long way to go. I don't think we made a step forward," he said. "I'm greedy. I want to see an immediate result on defense."
The 15 fast-break points helped the Suns shoot 56 percent in the first quarter for a 36-27 lead going into the second. The Sixers battled, using a 9-2 burst sparked by a Young 3-pointer to draw within one. Later, after Phoenix again went up by eight, Spencer Hawes hit consecutive 3s to cut it to one.
It remained a one-point game at halftime, the Suns leading 60-59 behind 14 points from Plumlee.
Carter-Williams scored 16 in the half for the Sixers, then opened the third quarter with a 3 that was followed by a triple from Young to give Philadelphia a five-point lead.
But the Suns followed with a 12-2 run to take the lead for good. Plumlee had the first five points and a Dragic layup later in the quarter gave Phoenix an 11-point lead.
It was 88-81 going into the fourth quarter and the Sixers never got closer than six. That came when Young's free throws made it 96-90 with 6:42 left, but Morris hit two straight 3s and Dragic followed with another one to push the Suns' lead to 15.
Game Notes
Plumlee's previous career-high was 18 points, reached twice ... The Suns are 3-0 this season following a double-digit loss ... Tony Wroten had 22 points off the bench for the Sixers ... The Suns will play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Monday ... The Sixers had won four of the last five in the series coming in.
Dec 28 11:26 PM- PHILADELPHIA: 101
PHOENIX: 115
End of Regulation
Dec 28 11:26 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 81
PHOENIX: 88
End of 3rd
Dec 28 10:53 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 59
PHOENIX: 60
Halftime
Dec 28 10:10 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 27
PHOENIX: 34
End of 1st
Dec 28 9:37 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 0
PHOENIX: 2
1st Quarter - 11:43
Dec 28 9:14 PM
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