Sixers can’t keep up with Kevin Durant, Suns offense in 115-102 loss

PHOENIX — The home crowd roared when Mo Bamba missed consecutive free throws, and kept the cheers flowing when Kevin Durant snuck behind the 76ers for a breakaway dunk.

That fourth-quarter sequence — which ended with one spectator in Section 102 hollering, “This is the best day of my life!” because those two missed foul shots meant everyone in attendance had won a free Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwich — epitomized another dreadful night for the Sixers while attempting to navigate life without reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid. They fell, 115-102, Wednesday night at the Footprint Center, in a game two-way players Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin Jr. played the entire final period because the outcome had all but been decided.

“The first quarter, we had it right where we kind of wanted it, barring the offensive rebounding [allowing 12 in the period],” coach Nick Nurse said. “But that kind of was a sign of the night. We just didn’t seem to be moving with the energy that we needed to be.”

After consecutive victories against the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, the Sixers (38-31) could not clinch their first three-game winning streak of the season while playing without Embiid. The loss was also a hit to the Sixers’ playoff positioning in the tightly contested Eastern Conference standings. They dropped from sixth place to eighth, after the Indiana Pacers (39-31) beat the Detroit Pistons, and the Miami Heat (38-31 with head-to-head tiebreaker) topped the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night.

» READ MORE: Sixers head west, where four games against playoff-caliber teams will be a good barometer

Perhaps most peculiarly indicative of what Nurse called a “funky night” was the Sixers’ 7-of-18 mark from the free-throw line, after entering Wednesday ranked second in the NBA in percentage from the stripe (83). All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey also missed 10 of his 13 shots from the floor and finished with a season-low six points and seven assists, before sitting out the fourth quarter. Tobias Harris, who has largely struggled as the second offensive option in Embiid’s absence, missed his third consecutive game with a sprained ankle.

Instead, two former Suns were the Sixers’ leading scorers. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while reserve guard Cameron Payne scored all 12 of his points in the first half. KJ Martin added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Durant’s 22 points propelled him past Shaquille O’Neal for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Grayson Allen led all scorers with 32 points on a franchise-record-tying 9-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc, while All-Star Devin Booker narrowly missed first-career regular-season triple-double, with 18 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists.

The Sixers briefly sliced a 19-point deficit to 73-64 on a driving layup by Paul Reed about midway through the third quarter, but two Allen three-pointers sandwiched a Durant turnaround jumper to ignite a 17-2 run to stretch their advantage out to 24 points entering the final frame.

Despite holding Phoenix to 9-of-31 shooting and forcing seven turnovers in the opening period, the Sixers eventually fell into a 16-point hole in the second quarter. That’s because Suns (40-29) had a 34-18 rebounding edge and totaled 13 second-chance points before the break, and went on a 8-of-12 flurry from three-point range in the second quarter.

The Sixers continue this four-game West road trip on Friday at the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers (in James Harden’s first game against his former team), and Monday at the Sacramento Kings.