Sixers takeaways: Poor three-point defense, Tyrese Maxey’s inefficiency, and more from loss to Suns

Kelly Oubre Jr. has found his rhythm.

There will be times when Tyrese Maxey isn’t efficient due to the opposing team’s physicality. But his overall play often makes up for it. Tuesday wasn’t one of those nights because the 76ers needed more.

They also must do a better job of guarding the three-point line and converting their own wide-open looks.

Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 116-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Tuesday marked Oubre’s eighth game back with the Sixers (23-19) since he sprained a left knee ligament against the Detroit Pistons in November. He made his second straight start and third overall in that span due to Paul George being sidelined with left knee injury management.

» READ MORE: Paul George out Tuesday vs. Suns with left knee injury management

And if we learned anything in the last two games, it’s that Oubre is back to being a solid contributor.

The 6-foot-8 small forward finished with 21 points, while making 5 of 10 three-pointers against the Suns (27-17). Oubre was a game-best plus-13 in 34 minutes and added four rebounds and two steals. This comes after he had 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting along with five assists, two steals, and one block in Monday’s 113-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers. George missed both games due to left knee injury management.

Oubre always played with his trademark energy upon his return. It was just a matter of making shots. He’s now done that in each of the past three games, which has been very beneficial for the Sixers.

“I’m not getting tired as easily as I was when I first started coming back,” Oubre said. “Obviously, I had to weather that storm and getting in game shape. But now my legs are under me. I’m able to pick up full [court], allow my defense to pick up my offense, and just lock in on my fundamentals, everything is working out.”

But unfortunately for the Sixers, Oubre’s performance didn’t prevent them from losing four of their last six games.

Against the Suns, they were without Joel Embiid (right ankle injury management). So that put a heavy onus on Maxey and VJ Edgecombe (25 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block) to pull out the victory.

Maxey had his second-worst shooting performance of the season (28.0%) while shooting 7 of 25 — including missing six of eight three-pointers – and finishing with 20 points. However, he finished with game highs of seven assists and three steals to go along with one block.

The 6-2 point guard’s all-around play usually enables him to overcome rough shooting nights. That’s because his ability to get to the rim, drain three-pointers, rack up assists, and compile steals earned him a spot as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter on Monday.

But while his versatility is great, the Sixers need him to make shots. And for the third time in his last four games, he hasn’t been efficient.

Is it the opponents’ physicality?

“I don’t think it’s physicality,” Maxey said. “I think it’s just more me, just a little tired. I don’t know. But it will be alright. I’ll be fine.”

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey addresses viral argument with VJ Edgecombe: ‘That’s my little brother’

The sixth-year veteran, who’s third in the NBA in scoring at 30.0 points per game, believes he’ll bounce back.

“That’s what I do,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I’ll be just fine. Take a day off tomorrow, and get some treatment. I’ll be back at it, whatever day it is. I don’t even know what day.”

The Sixers’ next game is Thursday against the Houston Rockets at home.

For a while, Maxey’s all-around contributions kept the Sixers competitive.

There was a stretch in the third where Maxey took over the game without making a basket. He stole Mark Williams’ bad pass 28 seconds into the half, raced down court, and assisted on Edgecombe’s three-pointer to knot the score at 57.

Maxey later assisted on three consecutive baskets – one by Oubre, followed by two straight by Dominick Barlow – to help the Sixers take a 68-61 lead with 8:44 left in the quarter.

But as the game progressed, his team needed him to make shots rather than set up teammates.

“It’s a fine line,” Maxey said. “... I was getting in the paint, creating shots for us. But in games like this, I know we need that scoring punch. You know what I’m saying? It can come late sometimes. It can come early. But I know it’s going to be a time in the game where we need it.

“I just couldn’t make certain shots. Like, I got easy, easy, easy, easy looks tonight, like floaters, wide-open threes, layups. Just tough. Ball didn’t bounce my way tonight. So it’s alright.”

One can argue that one of the biggest differences between the Sixers and the squad they aspire to be is consistent three-point shooting. The season will remain rocky until they correct that.

Against the Suns, they made just 11 of 34 threes (32.4%). Even that’s misleading, considering Oubre made 5 of 10. So his teammates shot 6-for-24 from deep.

It’s hard to win shooting that poorly.

Meanwhile, the Suns shot 16-for-39 from deep. A lot of their three-point attempts came on wide-open looks. The Sixers basically left Grayson Allen (16 points on 4-for-9 three-point shooting) and Royce O’Neale (nine points on 3-for-7 three-point shooting) all alone.

Philly also struggled with pick-and-roll defense. But the disparity at the three-point line really doomed them.