Sports360AZRight now Suns head coach Alvin Gentry is looking for a do over.
Better make that two.
After dropping a nail-biter to New Orleans in the regular-season opener Monday, Phoenix (0-2) struggled out of the gates and never recovered, falling to the Sixers 103-83 Wednesday night at US Airways Center.
Philadelphia (1-1) raced to a 48-34 halftime lead and eventually pushed the margin to 67-34 before Shannon Brown’s jumper ended the Suns scoring drought over halfway through the third quarter.
After the game, Steve Nash was left searching for answers.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Nash explained. “We had a short training camp. We’re not in-sync.”
Nash struggled all game making only 2-11 shots. He dished out only one assist and had six turnovers in 17 minutes.
“I just couldn’t convert a lot of easy shots that would have opened up their defense,” a stoic Nash said in the locker room. “That was about as bad of a game as I’ve played, personally.”
Philly had six players in double figures, led by former University of Arizona star Andre Iguodala who scored 15 points and had a game-high six assists. He also recorded four steals which frequently led to easy transition baskets.
The one-time run-and-gun Suns were held to just six fast break points and were dominated on the boards 48-39.
“We’re struggling mightily offensively,” Gentry said. “It’s so hard for us to get a shot off. So hard for us to get in-rhythm. Am I disappointed? I’m really disappointed. We’ve got to re-group and figure out what we can do.”
Ronnie Price helped pick up the scoring slack in Nash’s absence scoring a game-high 16 points with four assists. Hakim Warrick, who didn’t play Monday against the Hornets, added 14 on 7-13 shooting.
The Suns will practice Thursday before opening a two-game road trip starting with a re-match against New Orleans in the Big Easy on Friday.
