PHOENIX - The deficit was a little too steep to overcome this time.
After Luis Scola gave the Phoenix Suns a nice cushion late in the game, the 76ers were unable to complete a late rally and fell to the Suns, 95-89, Wednesday night at US Airways Center.
The loss wasted a triple-double (16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) by Jrue Holiday. The Suns, led by Scola's 21 points, ended a six-game losing streak and beat a Doug Collins-coached Sixers team for the first time.
"I don't want a triple-double if we don't win," Holiday said.
The Suns took their largest lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Scola sank a jump shot for a 77-66 advantage. The Sixers steadily cut into the lead and finally got to within 87-85 when Holiday hit Dorell Wright for a layup with just over two minutes to play.
That was the closest the Sixers would get.
"In the first and third quarters, they had 58 points," Collins said. "We were playing uphill, playing a very fatigued game, which is disappointing. We hung around and still had a chance to win the game, but the inconsistency just comes back to haunt us every night."
The Sixers kept Scola under control in the first half, limiting him to just two points on 1-for-6 shooting. But Scola came to life in the third quarter and the Sixers got sloppy with the ball.
Scola found his shooting touch in the third. Stepping away from the basket and dipping inside with nice moves around the basket, he scored 14 of the Suns' 27 points in the third period. The Suns outscored the Sixers by 10 points in the quarter and entered the fourth with a 75-66 advantage.
"We went out and played hard for the most part," Thaddeus Young said, "but at the end of the day there is no excuse for not winning games. We have to find a way to go out and stop guys and get victories."
The Sixers had hoped to get off to a quick start like they did in a 103-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers the night before. That didn't happen.
The Suns made 13 of 24 shots (3 for 4 from behind the three-point line) and scored 18 points in the paint on the way to a 31-24 lead after one quarter.
One Sixer who got off to a fast start was Young. He scored 10 of his 12 first-half points in the first quarter. However, Young scored just two points in the second half.
Of the seven teams the Sixers will face on their longest trip of the season, Phoenix was the worst. The Suns earned their first win since defeating lowly Charlotte on Dec. 19.
The Sixers will get one day off before the final stretch of this Western Conference trip with a hellish back-to-back at Oklahoma City and San Antonio on Friday and Saturday.
Contact John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com. Follow on Twitter @JmitchInquirer.
