Throughout the seemingly endless preseason, 76ers coach Jim O'Brien preached defense, defense, defense. His players were supposed to challenge shots and keep the opponent from getting to the rim.

But the Sixers seemed helpless last night in following those commands against the speedy and athletic Phoenix Suns, particularly in a first half that saw the mistake-prone home team give up so many drives to the rim, they might as well have been waving green flags.

Throughout the seemingly endless preseason, 76ers coach Jim O'Brien preached defense, defense, defense. His players were supposed to challenge shots and keep the opponent from getting to the rim.

But the Sixers seemed helpless last night in following those commands against the speedy and athletic Phoenix Suns, particularly in a first half that saw the mistake-prone home team give up so many drives to the rim, they might as well have been waving green flags.

The Suns raced out to a 19-point halftime lead and fended off some mild threats in the second half, spoiling the Sixers' home opener with a 108-98 victory at the Wachovia Center before a crowd of 19,385 collectively wondering, "What have we here?"

What they saw was a 16-turnover first half by the Sixers that led to an incredible 27 points by Phoenix. In the first quarter, the Suns romped for 20 points off 11 Sixers mistakes.

The Suns led by as many as 21 points before settling in to a 68-49 lead at the half. Exactly half of their 68 points were scored in the painted area of the court, an O'Brien no-no.

One expected O'Brien, the admitted defensive micromanager, to sound off on the defense after the game. But he pointed to the turnover column, which showed the number "23" for the Sixers, sort of encouraging considering how they started.

"I really am concerned about our turnovers more than the defense," he said. "We did not play good defense tonight. I think their skill level had something to do with that.

"I'm more concerned about the turnovers. We can do some things offensively. But if we're going to turn the basketball over that many times, it's painful, especially if it's going to turn into the number of points that they turned them into."

Allen Iverson pointed to himself as the No. 1 offender in the turnover category. Though he scored 25 points and dished out nine assists, he committed seven turnovers.

"We turned the ball over way too many times," he said. "I turned it over way too many times. I turn the ball over seven times, it's hard for us to win any basketball games."

Iverson said the mistakes were a result of trying to make something happen too quickly instead of being patient at the offensive end.

"Trying to make scoring plays instead of making passes to set up plays, and forcing things," he said. "A couple of times I threw the ball away when I should have dribbled the ball a couple more times."

Of course, much of the credit for the Sixers' ineffectiveness should go to the Suns, who have averaged 110 points in their first two games under the guidance of point guard Steve Nash. Nash, signed as a free agent in the off-season, had 10 assists, and three Suns had more than 20 points apiece. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 29 points, Shawn Marion added 24 and Joe Johnson notched 22.

"I think there was a considerable difference at different times on the court with our speed level and athleticism," O'Brien said. "They really put a pounding on us in the first half, and we could never dig out of that hole."

It was 68-49 at halftime, and the diehards in the bewildered crowd cheered themselves by remembering that the Sixers rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics in the team's season opener two nights earlier.

The Sixers scored the first nine points of the third to cut the deficit to 10. But their fight was an uphill one. The closest they got was eight points, 94-86, on Iverson's three-point bucket with 7 minutes, 6 seconds left to play, but Stoudemire and Marion combined for the next seven points to get Phoenix out of danger.

"We should have come out with a little more energy," said Kenny Thomas, who contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. "We kind of did, but we kind of lost it."

The Sixers try again tonight in Detroit against the Larry Brown-less Pistons.

"They kicked our butts; there's no other way to say it," O'Brien said. "You can't sugarcoat it. They were the superior team and they showed it, and as a result, we're 1-1."

Samuel Dalembert, the Sixers' backup center, left the game with just over four minutes left with what O'Brien called a mild right hamstring strain. Dalembert will be reevaluated before tonight's game.