Finally, the Sixers returned home on Monday night after a six-game, 10-day road trip which included four contests on the West Coast. Looking to build on a 4-2 trip, the Sixers took on a sputtering Phoenix Suns team which made a drastic change in search of a spark, moving three-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal to the bench amid a four-game losing streak.

Joel Embiid (left foot sprain) was ruled out for this one, while backup center Andre Drummond was a late scratch due to a left toe sprain which has bothered him since the start of the team's road trip. Kyle Lowry was out as well, dealing with soreness in the right hip which has been an issue dating back to November. Kelly Oubre Jr., who missed three straight games due to a left hand sprain after playing in the team's first 30 games of the season, returned to action and started.

The Sixers looked very good in the first quarter, not as good in the second quarter, and had a largely awful showing in the second half. A game they could and should have won, even without Embiid, turned into a loss, already the team's 20th of the season.

Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 109-99 loss on Monday night:

Guerschon Yabusele starts in the middle, Kelly Oubre Jr. returns

With Drummond unavailable in addition to Embiid, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse did not need to deliberate about his starting center: Yabusele received the starting nod, his 13th of the season in 33 appearances -- Yabusele is the only remaining Sixer to appear in every game this season. The absences of Embiid and Drummond. cleared the way for rookie Adem Bona to receive a chance at rotation minutes.

With Oubre returning to the opening unit, Nurse's complete starting lineup was comprised of Tyrese Maxey, Oubre, Paul George, Caleb Martin and Yabusele.

Sixers stifle Phoenix's offense early

Kevin Durant knocked down a corner three to open the scoring on the Suns' behalf. An immediate 10-0 Sixers run ensued, forcing Phoenix head coach Mike Budenholzer to call a timeout and help his new-look starting lineup regroup. Maxey and Yabusele each knocked down early triples, while Oubre knocked down one of his signature paint jumpers and then blew by Durant after a successful shot-fake:

Oubre played the entire first quarter and scored a team-high eight points, but the Sixers had a successful first 12 minutes because of their defense. Phoenix mustered just 16 points in the opening frame, and their leading scorer -- center Jusuf Nurkić, who like Beal was demoted to a reserve role -- only scored four points. Oubre did a terrific job early on against All-Star Devin Booker, while Martin handled the Durant assignment before George slid up to that spot later in the quarter.

Speaking of George, the nine-time All-Star made just two of his seven shot attempts while also playing the entire first quarter. One of those makes, though, came when George intercepted a pass intended for Durant and went the distance for an easy slam:

The Sixers did not have a particularly strong offensive quarter themselves, though, only scoring 23 points. It was enough to carry a seven-point lead into the second quarter.

Rotation odds and ends

A series of rotation-related decisions Nurse made in this one:

• Two-way point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr., who has struggled in his few recent appearances, was back in Nurse's rotation, filling in for Lowry as an additional ball-handler. Nurse spoke on Saturday about his preference to have multiple ball-handlers on the floor when Maxey is out of the game, and Dowtin joined veteran Reggie Jackson in the backcourt during his minutes.

"It gives them a chance to kind of work together as far as bringing the ball up. Seems like maybe there's one that doesn't maybe get as much pressure," Nurse said. "So we can get the ball up and get into our stuff."

• Bona was indeed the Sixers' backup center, and his stint in the first half was encouraging. Bona was active and mobile. He threw down this slam on a roll right before blocking a Booker shot around the rim:

• Rookie two-way player Justin Edwards remained involved in the mix on the wing, and continued to show the sort of comfort he discussed feeling after his career-best performance in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Edwards knocked down a transition triple on his first shot attempt following Bona's block of Booker. Edwards also tied up Booker on a drive, forcing a jump ball which the rookie won.

• Nurse's lack of comfort playing Ricky Council IV has been evident in recent weeks, with Edwards' supplanting of the second-year wing in Brooklyn being the most extreme example. While Council did rejoin the rotation on Monday, his lone stint in the first half lasted only two minutes and change, and it included two rushed shot attempts that never had a chance. The Sixers were outscored by eight points during that stint.

Yabusele continues to understand the assignment

Yabusele's improvement as a three-point shooter since his first run in the NBA was one of the driving forces behind his return to the league after five years of playing overseas, and the immense confidence he has in that shooting stroke is a powerful thing. Yabusele is completely aware that his accuracy from long-range can be a valuable asset if he leverages it frequently.

The 29-year-old Yabusele has done just that all year long, never showing any sort of hesitation from beyond the arc. His volume on a per-minute or per-possession basis has been terrific all year, as has his efficiency. Yabusele led the Sixers with 12 points in the first half to go with six rebounds, and nine of those points came by way of the three-point shot, where he made three of his six early tries:

It is still a bit difficult to believe just how valuable of a player Yabusele has become in his first season with the Sixers, an absolute home run of a signing on a veteran's minimum contract.

Sixers squander chance to take control with shaky offense

The Suns finished the first half with just 42 points. Somehow, despite all 11 Suns to appear in the first half scoring, Durant's seven points led all Phoenix scorers. Booker made just one of his 10 shot attempts prior to intermission. It represented a massive opportunity for the Sixers to assert dominance and establish a significant lead.

However, the Sixers were not up to the task offensively. They only scored 46 points themselves, with Yabusele and Oubre being their only players to reach double-figures. The Sixers deserve credit for playing an outstanding defense half against Durant, Booker, Beal and co., but their offense was so putrid that it canceled out such a strong effort on the other end of the floor.

Maxey failed to get going at any point, while George's struggles as a scorer were even worse -- a continuation of several subpar games in that department for him. The Sixers should have had a lead much larger than four points at halftime, but could not score the ball with any sort of consistency. 

It came back to bite them.

Suns pull ahead in third quarter

While the Sixers remained inept offensively in the third quarter, the Suns found a rhythm -- Durant, Booker and Beal all had their moments, and it enabled Phoenix to take its first lead since 3-0 and then full ahead by double-digits. Beal was particularly effective when checking back into the game, and perhaps the most discouraging sequence of the stretch came when George missed a wide open three, the long rebound went to Phoenix, leading to a transition corner triple from Beal.

George and Maxey were at the center of the Sixers' offensive issues, as each one struggled to generate good looks -- and when they did, the shots would just not go down. The Suns led by as many as a dozen points, and looked like they could pull away fairly quickly. And then...

Oubre provides a massive jolt

The Sixers' starting shooting guard was outstanding in his return to action, and when the Sixers offense was completely lifeless late in the third quarter, it was Oubre who came to the rescue, scoring 13 points in just the final three minutes and 23 seconds.

Oubre was tremendously aggressive going downhill, where he is often at his best. After getting back on the board with a driving layup, Oubre converted back-to-back and-ones, with this being the first:

After those two finishes, Oubre put his head down and drover to the rim again, this time drawing a foul and an ensuing standing ovation from the Philadelphia crowd. He topped it off by trimming Phoenix's lead to five points with a 31-footer to beat the buzzer:

When Oubre is anywhere near his best, he is a massive two-way asset to any team. But he couldn't do it alone on Monday.

Suns pull away once and for all in fourth quarter

Maxey finally got going a bit in the final frame -- despite having not rested once since the final minutes of the first quarter -- but the rest of the Sixers lagged behind him offensively. George had nothing in this one, while Yabusele cooled off and Oubre failed to keep up his torrid pace.

Meanwhile, the Suns' extremely shaky depth came through for them in a major way, with rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro providing them with huge minutes while Beal led the way. With a solid wire-to-wire performance from Maxey and one even slightly below average for George, the Sixers would have won this game. But Maxey's arrival came a bit too late, while George never found his footing at all. 

Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on Wednesday night, playing host to the NBA-worst Washington Wizards.

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