Suns Ride Strong Second Half To 119-115 Win Over 76ers

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Jason Richardson sank six shots from beyond the arc and finished with 29 points, while Steve Nash ended with 21 points and 20 assists, as the Phoenix Suns used a strong second half to post a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nash recorded his second 20-assist game of the season, having already done so October 30 against Golden State. Jared Dudley ended with 18 points off the bench for Phoenix, which improved to 7-1 this season.

Dudley connected on 4-of-5 three-pointers, helping the Suns finish 15-of-30 beyond the arc overall.

Andre Iguodala finished with 24 points and nine rebounds to pace the Sixers, who have dropped two in a row. Marreese Speights added 20 points and eight boards off the bench in the setback.

“They continued to make a lot of threes,” Iguodala said of the Suns. “They made the tough shots and made the open ones. When the three-ball’s going for them, they’re really tough to beat.”

In a back-and-forth game down the stretch, Iguodala sank a basket to even the score, 108-108, with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Each team came up empty on its next possession, but Richardson threw down a dunk in transition with 2:14 to go, and was fouled on the play. His free throw made it a three-point game, and after a missed three from Lou Williams, Richardson’s layup off a cross-court pass by Nash expanded the Suns lead to 113-108.

Williams missed the next two shots for the Sixers, and inside the final minute, Rodney Carney got to the line for Philadelphia. However, he made just 1-of-2 to keep Philadelphia down two possessions, and Nash made six free throws in the last 30 seconds to seal the victory.

“It was a good win for us,” Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. “We just struggled in the first half. We got great shots, we just didn’t knock them down. I was a little disappointed our defense was just so wide open. They seemed to be driving everything to the basket. I thought we did a much better job in the second half with that.”

Willie Green’s free throw gave the Sixers a 27-25 lead at the end of a back- and-forth first quarter, and Philadelphia opened the second quarter with a 13-3 run. Jrue Holiday’s three-pointer ended it for a 40-28 advantage.

The Sixers went up by 16 late in the half, though Richardson’s three got Phoenix within 66-54 at the break.

The Suns continued to close the gap in the third, opening the quarter with a 12-4 run. Richardson had five points in the stretch, which Nash ended with a layup to bring his team within 70-66 just over three minutes in.

Phoenix drew even late in the quarter, as a Leandro Barbosa three made it an 84-84 game.

Speights’ jumper put the Sixers up two heading to the fourth, and they led by a small margin in the opening minutes. A Jason Smith three and Speights basket expanded Philadelphia’s lead to 100-92, but the Suns overtook the lead with three-point shooting.

Dudley hit consecutive shots from beyond the arc to get Phoenix within two, and Barbosa drilled one with five minutes to go to put the Suns up, 105-104.

Nash, who recorded his seventh career 20-assist game, also finished with seven turnovers...The Suns’ 7-1 start matched their best eight-game start in franchise history...The Sixers shot 53.7 percent overall, compared to 53.2 percent for Phoenix. However, Philadelphia made 5-of-13 three- pointers...The Suns got 17 points from Amare Stoudemire...Thaddeus Young added 15 points for the Sixers, while Williams had 13.