Flight across the nation, early game, third consecutive game with a fresh lineup. A club without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal will struggle, as the Phoenix Suns did tonight.

The Phoenix Suns lost their third straight game, 112-100, against the Philadelphia 76ers in a rough, wasteful game.

The Suns are 2-4 and play the Detroit Pistons again tomorrow morning.

First Half:

With Devin Booker absent, Eric Gordon played plenty of point guard. A terrific two-man game started with him and Durant scoring 15 straight points.

Nurkic’s playmaking skills kept shining. Finding the open man and playing tertiary role for KD and Gordon while Beal and Booker are injured.

It took over 11:30 for Phoenix to score without Nurkić, KD, or Gordon. Jordan Goodwin’s free throw and buzzer-beater ended the quarter, reducing Philadelphia’s advantage to 25-24.

The offense appeared disorganized, especially with Durant on the sideline. After Joel Embiid joined the game midway through the second quarter, both Durant Nurkić re-entered the game at the following break.

Kelly Oubre Jr.’s alley-oop invigorated the fans and gave Philadelphia their first double-digit lead of the day, but Durant scored six points to cut the advantage to four.

Phoenix trailed 52-45 after a sloppy half. Two-thirds of the team’s points came from Durant’s 14 after two, Nurkić and Gordon’s combined 16. Phoenix started 16/48 from the field and 5/20 from three.

Second half:

Phoenix began Drew Eubanks in the second half, replacing Jusuf Nurkić, who was not on the bench in the third quarter but returned later.

The Sixers started quickly from three. Frank Vogel called a timeout after Joel Embiid, De’Anthony Melton, and Kelly Oubre Jr. made triples to extend their advantage to 12.

An angry Philadelphia audience was calmed by Durant’s jam following Embiid’s monster smash on Eubanks.

Even though the offense stalled without Durant, the Suns trailed by five heading into the fourth quarter, 80-75.

Kevin Durant tried to lead Phoenix to victory alone, getting to the line frequently and dissecting everything the Sixer defense threw at him, but Philadelphia kept up with KD and kept their lead around six to 10 points for most of the fourth.

Philadelphia pulled ahead by 18 in the quarter, winning 112-100.

Durant scored 31, Gordon 13, and Nurkić brought in 11. Whether Devin Booker or Bradley Beal is playing, the Suns must improve offensively to reach their long-term ambitions.