National Basketball Association
Philadelphia 123, Phoenix 110
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 31, 2017
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #17 Jonathan Sterling, #4 Sean Wright, #3 Nick Buchert
Attendance: 16983

PHOENIX -- It was the perfect way to end 2017 for the Philadelphia 76ers: consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month, victories on back-to-back nights for the first time all season and apparently sidestepping a serious injury to center Joel Embiid.

Dario Saric scored 27 points, and Ben Simmons had 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the 76ers held off a furious rally from the Phoenix Suns for a 123-110 win on Sunday.

Embiid and JJ Redick added 22 points each for the Sixers (17-19). Emiid collided with Suns guard Devin Booker and came down hard on his right hand when he crashed to the floor with 3:54 left. Postgame X-rays were negative, and Embiid said he was told the hand was sprained.

"It's OK, I think I will be fine. They said it wasn't broken," said Embiid, who added nine rebounds and five assists and was able to finish the game. "It was numb (initially), but I wanted to stay in and I wanted to win the game."

Simmons added nine rebounds and six assists.

"I know Coach needs me to be more aggressive offensively, so I definitely had to do that in this game," Simmons said. "I think we're just in a good rhythm right now and we're getting better at closing out games and knowing what we need to do."

Devin Booker had 32 points and TJ Warren scored 28 for the Suns, who failed for the fifth time this season to win three consecutive games.

The Suns (14-24) had been 8-0 when Warren scored 25 points or more, and it looked as if they might prevail again when they wiped out an 18-point deficit in the third quarter to get the lead before the Sixers responded.

"We were no match for them, especially in the first half," Suns coach Jay Traino said. "We did a good job of fighting back, but our bench, who has been really good for us, just didn't have a good game."

Still, Phoenix trailed just 105-104 with 5:32 left before Simmons had seven points during a 14-4 Philadelphia run, capped by a Redick 3-pointer that made it 119-108 Sixers with 1:31 to go.

"We fought our way back into the game, but they executed late, so props to them," Booker said. "They are a well-rounded team, and they came out with a tough win."

Philadelphia made 16 of 26 shots in the first quarter and led 16-4 less than five minutes into the game. However, Warren scored nine of his 11 first-quarter points during a 16-6 Phoenix run and pulled the Suns within 22-20 with an 11-foot jumper with 4:35 left.

Redick led the Sixers with 10 points in the opening period. He banked in a 34-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 38-32 lead after one.

Philadelphia dominated early in the second as well, opening with a 15-3 run and taking its biggest lead at 53-35 on a Jerryd Bayless layup with 6:27 left. Saric had 10 of his 16 first-half points in the quarter.

Saric has scored 20, 25 and 27 points in the past three games. When asked what got into the 6-foot-10 Croatian, Sixers coach Brent Brown broke into a smile.

"Whatever it is, let's bottle it up, market it and we'll all be rich," Brown said. "He's a team favorite. They love him with his broken English and big heart, and he sure is playing great basketball lately."

The Suns made only two 3-pointers in the first half. Booker, who had a season-high 46 points in Philadelphia on Dec. 4, missed five of his six shots. Phoenix's Josh Jackson had the final four points, including two free throws with 6.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to 63-49 at intermission.

Booker and the Suns came roaring back in the third. He had 16 points in the quarter and two 3-pointers during a run of 11 straight points that pulled Phoenix from 18 down to within 76-69 with 7:21 left. Booker then gave the Suns the lead at 85-84 on a three-point play with 2:51 left.

NOTES: Sixers C Joel Embiid (back tightness) was back in the lineup after missing Philadelphia's Saturday win in Denver. ... Phoenix interim coach Jay Triano on the improved play of F Marquese Chriss: "More consistent minutes, more focused on the floor and running the floor on both ends. I think he's in better shape than he's been." Chriss had 12 points and seven rebounds Sunday. ... Sixers rookie G Ben Simmons came into the game averaging 16.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists. If he maintains those numbers, he would join Magic Johnson (1979-80) and Oscar Robertson (1960-61) as the only rookies to average at least seven points, rebounds and assists.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Phoenix
Dario Saric 27 Scoring Devin Booker 32
Ben Simmons 6 Assists Devin Booker 6
Joel Embiid 9 Rebounds Tyson Chandler 11
JJ Redick 7 Free Throws Made Devin Booker 11
Dario Saric 3 Steals Tyler Ulis 4
Ben Simmons 3 Blocks Marquese Chriss 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Philadelphia 123 55.8 10-24 27-34 24 44 7 11 21
Phoenix 110 42.0 10-27 26-34 18 35 4 9 16
Upcoming Games
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Suns have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .375 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The 76ers have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .474 after a loss.