NBA Game Summary - Phoenix at Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA (Basketball News) - Boris Diaw-Riffiod had a triple-double with 14 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced attack, as the Phoenix Suns cruised past the Philadelphia 76ers, 123-99, at the Wachovia Center.

Raja Bell had 21 points, Steve Nash had 17 points and eight assists and Shawn Marion chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who have won three of their last four games.

Leandro Barbosa and Eddie House contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench for Phoenix, which has defeated Philadelphia four straight times.

John Salmons had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Andre Iguodala chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Sixers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

All-Star guard Allen Iverson missed his third straight game for Philadelphia. He sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter of the team’s overtime loss against the Orlando Magic on January 26.

Nash gave Phoenix a 18-9 lead on a three-pointer with 6:10 left in the opening quarter. The Sixers tried to get close and made it a six-point game after Matt Barnes hit two from the stripe to make it 27-21 with 53 seconds left, but Marion converted a slam and the Suns led 29-21 after 12 minutes.

Phoenix continued to use its strong outside shooting to pull away further in the second quarter and had a 14-point lead after James Jones hit an outside jumper to make it 41-27 with under nine minutes until the half.

However, the Sixers responded with a 10-2 run to make it a 43-37 game after Chris Webber nailed two free throws with 5:51 left. But, the Suns closed out the half with a 17-8 run to take a 60-45 lead into the locker room.

Phoenix shot 58 percent in the first half, including 5-of-12 from long range, and the Sixers connected on 40 percent of their attempts.

"They shot almost 59 percent," said Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks. "We always talk about giving up jump shots and that’s really what they beat us at; a jump shot game. That’s their game, pushing the ball up the floor, taking advantage of mismatches, and doing the things they do."

Philadelphia got within 13 points after Salmons drained a basket to make it a 68-55 game with a little over eight minutes left in the third quarter. But, that was as close as it got as Phoenix continued to pull away and took a 87-68 lead into the final stanza.

The Suns led by as many as 28 points in the final quarter as they cruised the rest of the way.

"This time we put two-halves together shooting the basketball instead of one," said Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni. "Boris obviously had a pretty good game. We had everybody shooting well."