Sixers roll to easy win over Suns

PHOENIX - Steve Nash might be one of the most entertaining players to watch in the NBA - or used to be. Wednesday night, though, it was the 76ers who provided all the entertainment, as they thoroughly outplayed the aging Phoenix Suns and posted their first win of the season, 103-83, at U.S. Airways Center.

After an Opening Night loss in Portland on Monday, coach Doug Collins and many of his players talked of correctible mistakes, the biggest area of concern being turnovers, of which the Sixers committed 20.

After three quarters, when the Sixers burst to a commanding lead, they had given the ball up only seven times and the Suns converted only four points off those mistakes.

Andre Iguodala was superb against the Suns, accumulating 15 points, six assists and four each of steals and rebounds. Spencer Hawes (11) and Elton Brand (nine) dominated the boards and the second unit expanded a slim lead when they entered in the first quarter.

The once-potent offense of the Suns seems to have lost a lot of life. In fact, it wasn't until 6 minutes, 12 seconds had expired in the third quarter that they scored their first points of the half. By that time, the Sixers had already gotten out to a 22-point lead.

The Sixers outscored the Suns 32-20 in the third, hitting on 12 of 19 shots from the floor. From there on, it was just a matter of how wide the final margin would be.

With back-to-back games tomorrow (Utah) and Saturday (Golden State), the easy win gave Collins a chance to limit the minutes of his regulars. Rookie Nikola Vucevic played 18 minutes, most after the game had been decided. But in his 8 minutes in the first half, he was had four points, three rebounds and a steal.