GRADES: Phoenix Suns 130, Philadelphia 76ers 117
By Ashley Foltz
With *checks notes* one, two, three… four starters out against the only undefeated team in the NBA bubble, the Philadelphia 76ers looked to keep their core healthy and activate their bench.
The first quarter wasn’t as horrible as I had imagined it would be when I first found out who the starters would be for the Philadelphia 76ers. The reserves for the Sixers showed up against the Phoenix Suns, especially Mike Scott. He hit a 3 early on to set the momentum and kept it up from there. Scott looked as though he was gunning for a spot in the playoff rotation.
In the first half, the reserves exuberated a lot of hustle and aggressiveness which was assuring to see from the bench players.
After being off during the hiatus, and barely playing in the bubble, Kyle O’Quinn looked fresh and energized after all this time. He even had a triple-double alert following him around early, on but missed it by just one point.
MIKE SCOTT. A+. <strong>22 mins | 17 pts | 4 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 7-12 FG | 3-4 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +3| </strong><p>Scott looked like he was trying to earn himself a spot in the playoff rotation with shooting what seemed like more than double as much as he usually does. His shot selection and ball movement were on point.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers
SG. Philadelphia 76ers. MATISSE THYBULLE. B+. <strong>29 mins | 7 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 3-4 FG | 1-2 3PT| 0-0 FT | 5 PF | -9 | </strong><p>Right off the bat, the rookie did a great job of covering Devin Booker, who has been the Suns’ leader. It was great to see him see him look confident taking shots from beyond and inside. Thybulle got his first professional technical foul and got into foul trouble in the third quarter which earned him a spot on the bench.</p>
A-. <strong>25 mins | 22 pts | 2 reb | 4 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 9-18 FG | 3-7 3PT| 1-2 FT | 1 PF | -11| </strong><p>Neto really took advantage of the extra minutes in this game. He hasn’t played in a few of the previous games so it seemed like he definitely wanted to make a statement, which he did a great job of. He did a substantial job of keeping the Sixers in the game in the final quarter.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. RAUL NETO
A. <strong>32 mins | 9 pts | 10 reb | 11 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 4-6 FG | 0-0 3PT| 1-1 FT | 0 PF | -12 | </strong><p>I bet you forgot that O’Quinn is a really good backup center. After all this time off and barely touching the court in Orlando, KOQ looked as though he had been starting every game. He even hit a new career hit in assists. O’Quinn needed just one more point to get him his first-ever triple-double!</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. KYLE O'QUINN
A. <strong>28 mins | 23 pts | 2 reb | 4 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 9-17 FG | 2-5 3PT| 3-4 FT | 1 PF | -2 | </strong><p>Burks had a pretty quiet but impactful game. I didn’t even know he had a significant amount of points and assists until I checked the box score at the end of the game. I had noticed him making his usual diving buckets and playing pretty confidently but I didn’t realize how much of an impact he had this game.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. ALEC BURKS
At the beginning of the second half, rookie, Matisse Thybulle, got into foul trouble as he accumulated his fifth personal foul. He also received his first professional technical. This earned him a seat on the bench for a bit, which hurt a bit because Thybulle had been covering Devin Booker and Ricky Rubio so well.
Raul Neto came out in this game to make a statement, and he did just that. He took full advantage of the extra minutes this game and gave the Sixers the spark they needed, especially towards the end of the game.
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With around three minutes left in this jumble of a game, the Suns finally created their distance from the Sixers. The momentum and reserve magic had fizzled out. Though it was not the ending that the Sixers wanted, it showed a lot of promise for the bench players as the playoffs near.