76ers aim to build off rally and overcome the Suns

Looking at tonight's game between the 76ers and the Phoenix Suns from a statistical standpoint, you can't help but shake your head over the mismatch this appears to be.

Going into last night's game at Indiana, the Suns led the NBA in scoring (111.1 points), field-goal percentage (49.6), three-point percentage (40.0), three-point baskets (9.6), and assists (26.4). They hit the 100-point mark in 48 of 56 games and had a league-high 37 victories when they did that.

The Sixers, meanwhile, are in the bottom five in the league in field-goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense. They have allowed 10 or more three-pointers in a game nine times. And they have won only three times in the 28 games in which they've allowed 100 or more points.

Consider also that they are 26th in the league in scoring (94.6 points) and have scored in triple digits only 16 times, and the outlook for the Sixers tonight at the Wachovia Center doesn't look bright.

But coach Maurice Cheeks hopes his team can build off its defensive performance in the second half of Monday night's 89-82 win over Sacramento, when it held the Kings to 28.9 percent shooting.

"What we have to do is try to keep guys in front of us," Cheeks said yesterday. "I think that's the main thing. It's been something we've been talking about for a while, trying to keep guys in front of us, not just trying to rely on our big guys to block shots. Our challenge is to get back in transition, matching up, taking the first guy back there."

Another necessity, forward Kyle Korver said, is to try not to match the Suns' fast pace.

"The challenge is to not get sucked into playing that style and to really try to play your own game," he said. "If you get caught in an up-and-down scoring fest, you're going to lose. So the biggest challenge is probably trying to fight that and trying to play your own game."

The Sixers did get sucked in the last time they saw the Suns, losing, 106-94, on Nov. 17 at Phoenix even though Steve Nash, the NBA's two-time MVP, did not play because of back spasms. Amare Stoudemire, still a little tentative after surgery on both knees the previous season, had 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Today, Stoudemire appears to be fully recovered, and he has been wreaking havoc on Phoenix opponents. The 6-foot-10 all-star is averaging 20.6 points and 9.6 rebounds while serving as the beneficiary of Nash's pinpoint passes on the fastbreak or the pick and roll.

"He's not hesitant now; he's a big challenge," Cheeks said. "He's opened it up a little bit more shooting the jump shot. He's an offensive rebounder. He runs the floor as well as anyone."

Notes. Times for home games Sunday against the New Jersey Nets and March 18 against the Houston Rockets have been changed. Both games will start at 6 p.m. The games originally were to start at 8 p.m. for telecast on ESPN, but the network will carry other games in that time slot. . . . The Suns' visit marks the final stop of a four-game road trip. . . . In the teams' last meeting, the Sixers' starters included Allen Iverson, who had an abscessed wisdom tooth, and Chris Webber, who was denying reports that he had asked to be traded. . . . The Sixers watched film of the Sacramento game yesterday but did not practice.