The Sixers couldn’t complete a perfect back-to-back Tuesday night.

They were unable to adequately compensate for the absences of two stars and fell to a 116-110 loss to the Suns at Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

VJ Edgecombe posted 25 points and seven assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 21 points.

Tyrese Maxey had 20 points on 7-for-25 shooting, seven assists and three steals.

Devin Booker starred for the 27-17 Suns with 27 points. 

Paul George missed his second consecutive game with a “left knee injury management” designation. Joel Embiid (right ankle injury management) also sat.

The 23-19 Sixers will face the Rockets on Thursday in Philadelphia. Here are observations on their defeat to Phoenix:

Edgecombe, Oubre start with foot on gas 

The Sixers used a starting lineup of Maxey, Edgecombe, Oubre, Dominick Barlow and Andre Drummond. 

Oubre began the evening on Booker and opened the scoring when he intercepted a pass and coasted in for an easy hoop. Overall, both teams were cold out of the gates. The Suns were more frigid than the very wintry weather outside the arena, starting 0 for 9 from the floor and 0 for 7 from three-point range. 

Edgecombe had a good, aggressive first quarter offensively. He scored craftily in the mid-range and posted 10 points on seven field goal attempts, which is three more than he had in the whole first half of the Sixers’ win Monday over the Pacers.

Oubre tallied 11 points in the first quarter and helped the Sixers mitigate an uncharacteristically quiet Maxey start. The All-Star guard went scoreless in the first quarter on 0-for-5 shooting. Maxey’s often appeared immune to fatigue this season, but it’s certainly plausible that playing 40 minutes the night prior (and leading the NBA in minutes) was a factor in his poor shooting Tuesday. 

Edwards returns to rotation

Justin Edwards checked in late in the first quarter for his first rotation stint since Dec. 30. 

The lefty wing swished a corner three-pointer on his first touch and finished with five points and two assists in 12 minutes. The Sixers used a 10-man rotation that again did not include Jared McCain. 

The Suns discovered their long-distance shooting touch early in the second quarter, making four triples in a row. Collin Gillespie’s jumper gave the Suns a 41-36 lead. 

The Sixers then made a 7-0 spurt. Edgecombe grabbed a defensive rebound, led a fast break and dished to Oubre in the corner. He sunk his fourth three-pointer of the first half. Oubre finished the game with five threes, his most since the 2023-24 season. 

Suns heat up in third quarter

The game remained close throughout the first half. Neither team held a double-digit lead until the last minute of the third quarter.

The Sixers had a strong start to the third, going up 66-59 when Barlow leaked out for a fast-break dunk. However, the Suns then took control with a shotmaking flurry.

Grayson Allen (16 points, six assists) drained a jumper to put the Suns up 83-74. The Sixers looked deflated and frustrated as their deficit kept growing. With his team trailing by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, head coach Nick Nurse picked up a technical foul. He was displeased about Edgecombe being called for a backcourt violation after the rookie had appeared to dribble the ball off Royce O’Neale’s foot.

The Sixers summoned a run just before the game was out of reach, playing hard and fast on both ends of the floor.

The Suns lost their offensive crispness and mainly seemed concerned with running out the clock. Maxey and Quentin Grimes knocked down threes. An Adem Bona put-back layup cut the Suns’ lead to 112-105.

Booker made a big turnaround jumper and the Sixers ultimately did not have any comeback miracles in store. They’ll hope to return to full strength (and the win column) soon.