Sixers vs. Suns: 3 takeaways from shorthanded loss

The Sixers recorded a rare “home” loss on Tuesday, but it wasn’t a game without positives.

All season, the Philadelphia 76ers have dominated their home floor. When the Phoenix Suns blemished a stellar Sixers home record on Tuesday night, it wasn’t for lack of trying on Philadelphia’s part. The Sixers were down four starters plus Al Horford, yet still managed to put up a fight.

For the Sixers, it was a starting five of Kyle O’Quinn, Mike Scott, Matisse Thybulle, Alec Burks, and Shake Milton. The Suns countered with the hottest team in basketball and a fully healthy rotation (with the notable but longstanding exception of Kelly Oubre). Phoenix struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, but the second half proved fatal for a shorthanded Sixers team.

While Philadelphia competed until the end, it’s difficult to beat a motivated and talented opponent when no one on the floor has collectively played together for extended stretches. It’s even more difficult when no one on the floor qualifies as a particularly impressive NBA player, whereas Phoenix has Devin Booker and a solid young core.

The Suns pulled away late, Furkan Korkmaz missed a wide-open Kyle O’Quinn on the verge of a triple-double, and the Sixers are now one step closer to facing the Celtics in round one. All this change, all this progression (?), just to meet Boston in the playoffs again. Such is life, such is life.

Here’s what we learned from a wacky afternoon contest on Tuesday.