Philadelphia 76ers Win Thriller in Utah vs. Jazz on Saturday

The Philadelphia 76ers started their West Coast road trip by paying a visit to the Utah Jazz.

Coming off of a tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Philadelphia 76ers were back on the floor Saturday night to take on the Utah Jazz.

When the Sixers and the Jazz met earlier in the year, Joel Embiid’s near-60-point outing led the 76ers to victory in South Philly.

On Saturday, the Sixers were the ones traveling to pay a visit to the Jazz in Utah. This time around, Sixers star guard James Harden was healthy and available to join Philadelphia’s starting five as the Sixers looked to get back on track following a rough loss at home against the Thunder on Thursday.

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

The Sixers weren’t fully healthy going into Saturday’s game. While Harden was in the lineup this time around, the Sixers lost a starter ahead of the matchup as the questionable Tobias Harris was downgraded to out due to knee soreness. With Harris out, the Sixers went with a three-guard lineup, elevating De’Anthony Melton to start alongside Joel Embiid, PJ Tucker, Tyrese Maxey, and Harden.

Typically, Harris is a guy that boosts the Sixers’ success from beyond the arc, but they did just fine in his absence during the first quarter. Within the first five minutes of the game, the Sixers had already snagged themselves a ten-point lead by getting off to a 17-7 run.

In transition, the Sixers were a plus-19 per 100 possessions in transition throughout the first quarter, according to Cleaning the Glass. They made their money from deep, knocking down 55 percent of their threes. After a rough last couple of outings from deep, Maxey flashed efficiency from three, hitting on two of his first three attempts from beyond the arc.

Shake Milton helped the cause by draining both of his three-point attempts from deep in his five minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid led the charge overall, with 13 points. The Sixers outscored the Jazz 41-24 through the first quarter of action. 

2nd Quarter

The red-hot start for the Sixers cooled down in the second quarter. After knocking down over 50 percent of their threes in the first quarter, the Sixers went cold from deep, missing their first three shots from beyond the arc within the first couple of quarters.

Utah capitalized on the Sixers’ shooting struggles in this quarter. Getting out in transition themselves, the Jazz went on a 14-6 run to get the game within 11 points with five minutes left to go in the second quarter. The run didn’t stop after a Sixers’ timeout. Utah had the game within two possessions with three minutes left to go.

But just as the Jazz got close to pulling out in front after trailing as many as 19 points, the Sixers pulled away late in the quarter. Despite hitting on just 39 percent of their shots and missing five of their eight threes in the second quarter, Utah’s hot quarter still resulted in them trailing by ten points at halftime. 

3rd Quarter

After getting outscored 32-25 in the second quarter, Sixers still entered the second half with a double-digit cushion. They built on that lead by putting the Jazz down by as many as 14 points. 

But shooting struggles continued for Philadelphia in the third quarter. Taking 22 shots from the field, the Sixers hit on just 32 percent of their attempts. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid combined for 12 points, while everybody else involved scored just eight points.

On the other side, the Jazz continued to hit their stride. Knocking down 52 percent of their shots, Utah was knocking on the Sixers’ door. While Utah couldn’t get out in front after outscoring the Sixers by seven points in the third quarter, the Jazz had the game within three points, showing the Sixers just how difficult it would be to compete with them in the final quarter of the outing. 

4th Quarter

The Jazz were primed to finally take the lead in the fourth quarter as they got the score within one point in the first two minutes. However, the trend of Philly finding a way to pull away slightly continued as Montrezl Harrell hit on a pair of free throws, and James Harden followed with a three.

Harden’s successful deep shot early would be the beginning of a red-hot quarter from The Beard. He wasn’t the only one to get it going, though. For Utah, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley would give the Sixers’ defense a tough time. As the Sixers and the Jazz traded baskets throughout the quarter, Utah finally tied the game with a little under two minutes left.

With 33 seconds left to go in the game, the Jazz snagged a one-point lead. It was the first time they were out in front all night. With a final offensive possession left, the Sixers got the ball in Joel Embiid’s hands in the mid-range. With a fadeaway shot, Embiid got the Sixers back out in front with a one-point lead with just four seconds left to go.

Coming out of a timeout, the Jazz had one last opportunity to steal the lead and seal a late-game comeback. However, a successful double-team on the perimeter by Joel Embiid and PJ Tucker against Jordan Clarkson led to an unsuccessful buzzer-beater heave.

The Sixers made it out of Utah with a 118-117 win.