76ers at Suns
The Phoenix Suns came back from their break and showed none of the spark that made them one of the most interesting teams in the NBA over the first three weeks of December. Heading home to host the NBA’s worst defense in the Philadelphia 76ers could bring back some of that energy. The Suns were held to a season-low 86 points and lost by 29 in Golden State on Friday to suffer just their third loss of the month.
The 76ers are 1-12 on the road and surrender an NBA-high 111.7 points, including an average of 126.3 over the last four contests. Philadelphia has allowed at least 15 3-pointers in an NBA-record seven different games this season and first-year coach Brett Brown is focusing on correcting the perimeter defense. “I believe that by continuing to focus on these areas, we are going to improve,” Brown told reporters. “That’s a judgment that sometimes will show up with stats, sometimes with gut feel. But we know that’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (8-20): Philadelphia took on one of the league’s lowest-scoring offenses last Saturday and ended up suffering a 116-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The 76ers had the entire week off to fix that defense and the players seem to be buying into Brown’s message. “We have to take pride in guarding guys and keeping guys in front of us,” forward Thaddeus Young told philly.com. “We need to force (penetrating players) to the baseline. I think that’s the biggest part - not letting teams go middle on us. That’s how they get kick-out threes.”
ABOUT THE SUNS (17-11): Philadelphia won’t have to worry too much about Phoenix’s perimeter players if they are anything like the group that showed up in Golden State on Friday. Starting guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic combined for just 15 points and P.J. Tucker was the only player to reach double figures with 11 points as the team went 4-for-23 from 3-point range. The Suns had scored at least 100 points in each of their previous eight games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 95-89 home win in the last meeting on Jan. 2, 2013.
2. Dragic is shooting 39.1 percent from the field over the last five games.
3. Philadelphia's leading scorer, F Evan Turner (19.3 points), has scored 10 or fewer points in three of the last four games.