By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers were riding high after beating the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon. They faced a very tough Phoenix Suns team that was looking to stop their momentum. Phoenix used a late game offensive explosion to beat Philly 114-109.

Philly jumped on the Suns from the opening tip-off, they were hitting their shots early on and the Suns could not stop their early momentum. The Sixers were led by Tobias Harris who scored 17 of his 30-points by half-time. He dominated the smaller Suns defenders and they could not do anything about it. He took it to them from the perimeter and the paint. Harris is continuing to round into the form and becoming the second option that Philly needs.

Despite the offensive explosion from Harris, the Suns hung tough and were able to retake the lead late in the third quarter. They were led by Devin Booker who scored 35-points, and he hit some timely shots to keep the Sixers at bay late in the game. There was nothing the Sixers could do to stop him late in the game. It did not matter if they used a double team or trapped him. He made them pay for daring to give them any space to get a shot off.  Joel Embiid and him traded baskets late in the game and the Booker was able to outduel Embiid (who scored 34-points). To lead his team to victory.

With the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon. The Sixers may look like a different team when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. They will need to get another balanced scoring night if they want to keep the backcourt of the Thunder in check. Additionally they will need to play better perimeter defense if they want to get their 33^rd victory of the season.