Utah Jazz Bested By Philadelphia 76ers In Close Battle
Dec 28, 2024, 11:36 PM | Updated: Dec 30, 2024, 10:09 pm
SALT LAKE CITY- The Utah Jazz played in front of their home fans for only the third time this month, taking on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers for the only time at Delta Center this year.
The Jazz returned from an up-and-down road trip where they lost three of their five games, but their two wins came consecutively against the Nets and Pistons. Their game tonight against the 76ers is their second to last game of 2024 with the Jazz taking on the Denver Nuggets at home on Monday, December 30, before the turn of the calendar.
Utah was still without John Collins with a hip contusion and Keyonte George who is dealing with a left ankle sprain, meaning that rookie Cody Williams and Jordan Clarkson found their way back into the starting line-up.
JC and Cody are back in the starting lineup 👀#StartingLineup presented by @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/fPbj7cfmJs
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
First Quarter
It was a hot start for the Jazz, jumping out to a 23-9 lead to open the game. One of Utah’s strong points against the 76ers was down low. The Jazz had 58 points in the paint, 16 more than Philadelphia.
There were some exciting plays featured in Utah’s onslaught to open. One was a pass from Lauri Markkanen to Walker Kesler as Markkanen crept along the baseline. The dish led to a wide-open dunk for Kesler.
from one big fella to another 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Tz2J8QpJEU
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
Collin Sexton also did some dirty work in the paint. After challenging Embiid with a floater that ultimately didn’t fall, Sexton stayed with the play, rebounding his own missed shot and putting it home.
sometimes you gotta use the rim to throw yourself a dime ¯_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/micpNmXpov
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
Second Quarter
The Jazz led by 12 at the end of the first frame, however, the second quarter belonged to the 76ers who outscored the Jazz 35-18. The strong bounceback from Philadelphia gave them a five-point halftime lead along with all of the momentum.
A contributing factor during this run for Philadelphia was the turnovers they were causing on the defensive end. By the end of the game, Utah had given up 22 total turnovers, 15 of them live ball, compared to the 76ers’ eight. The visitors took advantage by scoring 22 points off of the takeaways.
“We’re not doing a good enough job of seeing that shift defender,” Coach Will Hardy said in the post-game, “we’re dribbling into a secondary defender too many times. We also just have some moments of poor ball security, and the team knows that.”
now THIS is what we're talkin about!
V⭐️TE 8 & 0 for #NBAAllStar: https://t.co/MkbjLhykqa pic.twitter.com/MzjKHBaRzy
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 29, 2024
Third Quarter
In the third quarter, the Jazz went on a run of their own. They opened the second half with a 15-4 run that gave them the lead right back not even halfway through the frame.
The outside shot is what helped Utah climb back into the driver’s seat so quickly, getting big buckets from Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Brice Sensabaugh.
Lauri three counter: 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/PuybW14lXB
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
horns 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, shot's 𝐔𝐏 🎯 pic.twitter.com/h2jeZXyKyP
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
the Brice is always right 💰 pic.twitter.com/ICqGgrOpfM
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
Fourth Quarter
The Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers entered the final frame all knotted up at 81. The score remained close throughout the quarter, however, the Jazz were able to string together some stops and stretch their advantage to six points with around six minutes remaining.
we've lost count of how many lobs Walker's caught tonight ¯_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/lyugqugMzv
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
Despite the two-possession lead, a deficit of that size can disappear in an instant with prolific scoring on the other side provided by Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid who had 32 points each.
Both players were pivotal in the 76ers regaining control down the stretch.
OFF BALANCE. ON TARGET. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/zNBwCWi9NO
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 29, 2024
With 3:15 remaining, Maxey hit a three-pointer that gave Philadelphia the lead for the last time.
Utah did make it interesting in the final minute as Lauri Markkanen drained a long-distance three with five seconds remaining to cut the lead to one. The Jazz fouled and Philadelphia shot free throws, giving Utah a shot to tie the game with under three seconds remaining, but the last-second effort fell just short.
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Utah Jazz in an exciting finish by a score of 114-111.
fought hard but came up short 💔 pic.twitter.com/J3hgtLiCeM
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
Lauri Markkanen, despite low efficiency, led the way scoring for the Jazz with 23 points thanks to five three-pointers. Walker Kesler notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Collin Sexton also had a solid stat line with 20 points and eight assists.
Brice Sensabaugh had 24:33 minutes off the bench, hitting three of his five three-point attempts
a season-high 20-points and some big plays down the stretch made for a solid night for Brice 🫡🥶#TakeNote presented by @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/HtEgQwEEdY
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 29, 2024
“I don’t think that anybody should walk away from this game discouraged at all,” Will Hardy reflected post-game, “there’s a lot of really good stuff happening on our team right now.”
“I thought tonight we played a good game. We can go play by play saying, ‘this play wasn’t good, that play wasn’t good’ but that’s basketball… this is a night where I walk out feeling good about the progress of our group.”
The Utah Jazz will have a day to rest and recover before the Denver Nuggets come from the other side of the Rocky Mountains to visit Delta Center on Monday, December 28, at 7:00 p.m. MT.
